WGL's Second Birthday

Grace, George and Lauren 

We celebrated William George's actual birthday quietly, with cupcakes following dinner.  Since his party was the next day, he was giddy after watching all of the preparations.  He knew ice cream (his favorite) was being made, and he saw his cake in production.  He and his sisters loved all of the decorations that were already on display.

Also, the girls were so excited on July 12th that they picked out their birthday dresses from their 5th birthday, and they accessorized with the purses George gave them when he was born -- going for a head-to-toe birthday look. They helped George celebrate all day long, and were so "into" his birthday.

After vacillating between Snoopy and Elmo, George decided to reprise the Snoopy theme from last year.  Unable to make up his mind about chocolate or vanilla, we simply went with a brown (pretend it's black... I couldn't get on board with black food dye) and white cake to go with our whole black-and-white Snoopy theme.

Not surprisingly, these girls were ready to party.

We're not sure which Gracie loves more... birthdays, parties or cake.  When she's old enough, she will likely say it's a trifecta of goodness.  William George, more than anything, loves having "Happy Birthday to You" sung to him .  He was positively euphoric each and every time we sang to him.

And because he loves it so much, we sang to him many, many times during his birthday week.

After enjoying all of his favorite things (i.e., "pizzie," and ice cream)(he opted to devour homemade ice cream instead of cake), he settled in for a present marathon.  Everyone was far too generous, and we thank you.

He got his own police car...

He got some new additions for his heavy equipment collection...

...Some new airplanes...

...an inanimate pet... many, many other toys... and some spending money!

After giving out thank you hugs and kisses, William George bid his guests goodbye, and then decided to burn a little energy by running around the deck.  He paused for a photo op with Lexie.

Lexie (who is recovering from a softball injury and the resulting surgery) took some selfies with Lauren...

...and Gracie...

The duo were in the mood to pose so I took the opportunity to capture their summer smiles.

One of George's favorite books is "Goodnight Moon," and, when he saw his birthday outfit (not to be confused with his birthday suit) with the red balloon, he shouted, "GOODNIGHT MOON!!!!"

George had fun at last year's party, but was understandably not aware that the party was actually for him.  This year?  He knew, and he loved it.

Happy birthday, George!

Daily Photo

Grace and Snoopy

Enumerated Update

Happy Monday, friends.  Here's where we are:

1) Birthday: William George's birthday was last Friday (possibly mentioned previously one or one thousand times).  Updates on that very soon.

2) Dylan: Jakob Dylan is as underrated as Bob Dylan is overrated.  Thoughts?

3) Holy Grail: Here's another one we ponder all the time... why is Bruce Springsteen considered the voice of America, whereas John Mellencamp is relegated to so-so status?

4) Gallaghers: Why can't Liam and Noel patch things up and release new Oasis music? Things were said, lamps were thrown, but with time and some anger management therapy, they could get back in the studio.





 5) Costco:  During my last Costco jaunt, I contemplated making a deposit into the tell-us-what-you-think box.  My suggestion?  Open at 6am for those of us with children; open later for those buying wine and grazing on all the samples.

Just a thought.

6) My Optimist: Last week Skip sent a text informing me that Cook's Illustrated had called (no message) and speculating that they might have seen my homage here on the blog.

Y'all.  Isn't that the sweetest thing? That he can imagine someone at CI reading this tiny little blog? So I told him it was probably a call from subscriber services, and then he called me a dream crusher.

The call could also be of a "cease and desist" nature, alerting me not to publish any more recipes.

7) Martha: I have been meaning to write about this for weeks and weeks.  When Martha Stewart has legal issues, I'm usually interested in every detail of the case.  The little matter of a decade ago? Yes. The JCP/Macy's debacle? Yes!  Ms. Stewart is an extremely interesting entrepreneur.

"[Martha has] an enviable level of confidence. Martha couldn’t care less if you agree that pomegranate-seed-removal is an everyday skill, whether you like her particular method of doing so, or if you’re annoyed by her way of communicating it to you. She is absolutely convinced that if you heed her advice, you’ll be happier. She’s relentlessly selling her own taste and vision, and she assumes she will earn your affection because you’ll become dependent on her particular way of doing things. She became one of America’s first self-made female billionaires on the strength of her own good ideas and her willingness to sell them. This very entrepreneurial spirit has her back in court this month — this time because Macy’s claims she agreed to sell her products in their stores exclusively, then turned around and created a pop-up shop for J.C. Penney. When asked by Macy’s lawyer Ted Grossman whether people really buy or need two Martha Stewart casserole dishes from two different department stores, Martha replied, “They might have two houses. They might have two kitchens!”"

The full article contains some colorful language, but if you're up for it you can read the article in its entirety here.  The NYT piece referenced within the article is here.

That's it for us.  What's happening with  you?

William George's Second Birthday

Today is George's birthday.  He is now two.  Gone is the habit of measuring his age and development in months.  Or, as George likes to say:

"I two!"
"George is two!"
"Baby two!"

We kicked off his birthday weekend with cupcakes, and his party is tomorrow.  He is beyond excited, and his sisters are helping him celebrate. 


Birthday discussions July 2013 from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

This week we've been feeling nostalgic, remembering the day he was born, and looking at his earlier photos (two weeks, one month, two months, three months, five months).  We took the advice of having presents from George for the girls at the hospital, and this morning they grabbed their wristlets (small purses - George's thoughtful gift) and marched downstairs to help with party preparations.

This weekend we will be singing and enjoying copious amounts of ice cream and cake.  Cheers to George!

Softball, Redux

Skip signed up to play in a church softball league this summer and has been playing a quick game each Thursday night. Although the temps have been hovering around 90 degrees at 6:30 - 7:00, the trio have enjoyed cheering during these games. Also, there is a playground.

In William George's case, there's mulch... lots of mulch and dirt that requires his attention.

The duo have friends who are there playing and cheering their dad's, too.

In conclusion, Thursday is now their favorite night of the week.

Daily Photo

Snoopys

 

Meet George's regular Snoopy (left) and super-secret, back-up Snoopy (right). Snoopy was a special edition from a Kohl's partnership (long ago discontinued) and came dressed as the Red Baron (faux leather flying helmet, jacket and red scarf), whose accoutrements William George quickly discarded.

 

Several weeks ago, George temporarily misplaced "'Noop-'Noop," and we realized how fragile his security object is, given that Snoopy is something of a "throw-back" and not found on the shelves of your average discount store. A quick eBay search ("Snoopy Khol's") revealed many suitable replacements, and I have a passable replacement ($3.50 versus Amazon's price of $40-60) stored safely in my closet.

 

Daily Photo

Fourth

How was your 4th of July weekend?  If you live in our region, you were likely wet - very wet...  Kind of like Seattle but without all the coffee. 

We had contemplated a trip to the beach, but after the weather forecast became increasingly ominous (rain, rain and more rain across the entire southeast) we decided we would rather be rained in at home.  Skip took a couple of days off from work, we grilled out with Skip's family, and enjoyed time with the trio.  We even decided to clean out the basement and re-do the trio's play area.  With their newly created "art studio," they were able to enjoy time painting and drawing.  When they needed some down time, we downloaded a new movie, American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky.  William George played basketball and destroyed things. He couldn't have been happier.

For the first time in years, we didn't even watch Wimbledon, although we caught the Joker's highlights from his semi-final match, and we watched the awards ceremony. 

In between the above activities, we worked on George's birthday party. We have been asking, "George, do you want an Elmo party or a Snoopy party?"  He totally authorized Snoopy, but now that we are a "go" for Snoopy, he will occasionally ask about Elmo or will throw a curve ball and request Cookie Monster.  One thing we know is that the menu will consist of his favorites: "pizzie," ice cream and CAKE!

What is happening with  you? Did you dodge the rains, or bravely celebrate in spite of them?
  

Rain

While complaints about the weather appear frequently on this site, special efforts have been taken not to complain over the July 4th weekend. Something tells me the founding fathers would not find my mumblings about the rainy nature of this weekend impressive, in light of the many considerations and sacrifices they were contemplating in the weeks and months leading up to July 4, 1776.

We are entering our third straight day of rain and are beginning to feel as if we are living in our very on Museum of Modern Art Rain Room.

These images from the installation seem verrrry familiar:

 
Skip took the trio to the park today. During their visit, rain fell sporadically, but they played anyway. 

Happy 4th!

Grace (top) and Lauren (bottom), June 2007

Wishing you all a wonderful 4th of July. Our tentative plans include a baseball game and fireworks show, but we may be opting for a "Plan B" in light of monsoon-like rains.  Whatever you do, be safe and have fun!

Dancers

The duo have always enjoyed dance, but this year's recital (at the beginning of May) was especially fun.  So fun that Lauren was in tears when the time came to leave.  And that's how we came to be enrolled in summer dance camp.  Each week they have a lesson and then a quick performance.



Ballet 6-24-13 from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.


In other news, the duo have declared "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as their summer theme song. They have created a dance routine to the song but are being secretive. William George, who has to participate in everything they do, is more willing to share:


 
Girls Just Want to Have Fun from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

LAL Milestones: Third Tooth

Guess who lost her third tooth last week?

She kept going back and forth on whether or not to let Skip pull the dangling tooth. "Can I do it tomorrow?" she kept asking.  Last Tuesday, Gracie offered to hold her hand through the process.  Gracie and I each held her hands and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while Skip quickly performed the extraction.

She wrote her note to the tooth Fairy:

Dear Tooth Fairy, 

I lost a tooth! This is Lauren, and this is my third tooth.  I am happy that I lost my tooth. I love you because you are sweet. Thanks for visiting me. 

I am so excited about seeing you! What color is your castle? I wish I was a princess.  I wish I was your sister - with Gracie. 

Love, 
Lauren

PS: It's Gracie... My sister was very brave. She lost her tooth, and I held her hand. Where do you live? 
Love, 
Gracie

Everyone loved getting personal responses from the Tooth Fairy...

...and Lauren enjoyed dazzling her friends at swim class with her tooth story. Nothing establishes more "cred" than a good tooth-pulling story.

Daily Photo

George

Enumerated Update

Hello and happy July 1st! How was your weekend?

1) Excess: A few things lately have caused me to re-examine consumption.  First, my closet is in dire need of reorganization. Although I am a fairly frugal person, there are some weak spots in my resolve, and my closet reveals them all. After taking the first steps, I am appalled at how much is in there.  Between the clothes and bags and shoes... it's all just too much. Second, I read this post from the talented Erin.  Third, I read this post from Kellee Bryan describing her decision to not buy any new clothes in 2012.  She allowed a few thrift store purchases, but no new clothes. Friends, she bought her wedding dress at a thrift store! She deserves two check marks on that life list item.

In conclusion, a) my closet is a mess and b) I need to curb the consumerism. 

2) Related: We have also been reviewing additional expenses, especially those for services we do not need or use.  Skip prepared a report of our expenses and presented it as the "State of the State".

Our habit of presenting information in political speak stretches back to the late 90's when Skip and I worked for the same company. My two superiors were these good-natured, fraternity-type guys who habitually committed various faux pas. For example, they once hauled a gas grill out to the wooded, natural area of our office complex for a company lunch -- during a drought and a burn restriction mandate.  That's how we came to call the conference room the "situation room" because any meeting necessitating their involvement took on a sitcom-like quality. 

3) Anglophiles: We love the Brits. They're smart, witty and sensible. This chart tickled my funny bone.

4) Buzz: This week's word is "thought leader" which is defined as: an earned title bestowed upon an accomplished and acclaimed authority in a particular field. 

Example: William George is a thought leader on snack procurement.

And that's about it for us.  What's going on with you? Are you gearing up for some time off for the holiday?

Sunday Morning

Shots from a random Sunday morning:

Swimming Lessons

Lauren and Grace

For the last two weeks, the duo have been going to the pool every day for swimming lessons.  William George attended the first day and proceeded to throw a series of temper tantrums unlike anything seen to date.  George is in that phase where he cries to get in the water (which we did) and then immediately cries to get out of the water (which we also did).  Unfortunately, he then wants to cycle in/out of that sequence repeatedly.  Since I am not a big fan of the public hysteria, we decided to curtail the pool, and then George decided to throw himself down on the concrete several times.  A very kind lady who had just completed water aerobics walked over (and that alone is huge because, for all of the "enjoy every minute" talks you get from people, no one will come within three feet of you if you are having issues with your children in public) to ask me if I knew where the baby pool was.  That was helpful because a) I didn't know and b) that led us to the playground where we at least had a few moments of George not threatening to strike his head against the hot concrete.

The Class

Anyrate.  All of that to say that William George's attendance was short-lived, and the duo and I attended lessons alone while George spent some quality time with Skip's parents. On a related note, his behavior at the pool does not bode well for his swimming lessons next month.

Lauren, George and Grace

Anonymous classmate, Grace and Lauren

The duo, on the other hand, had a blast.  After warming up at the beach and at camp, they were receptive to learning more of the technical aspects of swimming, i.e., how to breathe, etc.

Grace

Gracie, with her long legs, had the most powerful kicks in the class.  Lauren compensated by listening intently and following all instructions to the letter.  Our little rule follower even declined to get in the whirlpool after reading that children six and under are not allowed.  Even after I coaxed her a little, pointing out she's just three months away from being seven and has been in hot tubs many times, she still said, "No! The sign says six and under not allowed!" (She acquired that admirable trait from her father.)

The class

Grace

We will probably take another class later in the summer, but we want to spend a few weeks letting them practice what they have learned so far and to have some recreation time.

Grace and Lauren

Check out their form:

Swim Lessons from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

We'll be contacting Bob Bowman for coaching soon.  :)

Cook's Illustrated

Years ago a copy of Cook's Illustrated fell into my hands.  This cooking magazine reads like the researchers and writers at Consumer Reports decided to hang out in Martha Stewart's cooking studio for a while.  Cook's Illustrated was created by Christopher Kimball and released its first issue in 1993.  The magazine, like all of the projects stemming from that initial endeavor (e.g., Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen is a very serious and disciplined approach to cooking (but also very guaranteed to deliver spot-on results).  In Kimball's own words, he set out to make recipes bulletproof after having identified most home cooks' impediments of 1) being haunted by a fear of failure and 2) not following recipes to the letter.  Having tried many of his recipes throughout the years, he accomplished his goal.

Because the magazine does not rely on advertising or insulting product placement, the subscription is a little pricey.  However, CI recently released The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook containing 2,000 recipes over the last 20 years for the reasonable price of $28.00.  (If you are a subscriber to the America's Test Kitchen newsletter, you received the offer for $24.00.) Give it a look.

Visit the Cook's Illustrated website here, and you can read about the interesting Kimball here.  My favorite part is a former editor describing Kimball's awkwardness by saying, "Maybe he doesn't say hello to you in the hall the first two years, but who else is going to let you run up a $1,000 meat tab to make ribs?"

Enumerated Update

Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend?

Here's the story with us on this fine morning:

1)  Deleterious Neglect: This poor site has been somewhat neglected so far this summer. Lindsey Twins is a little like my fourth child and is the space I rely on to preserve our daily happenings.  Plus, you all have filled the space previously occupied by my coworkers. While you may be bashful about commenting, your e-mails always make my day.

I had hoped to organize a Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule for summer, but instead posting has been all over the map.  We have been really busy since school ended, and I haven't had the camera in hand all that much.  Since I want to have our summer documented, efforts will be redoubled to have some regularity with posting (M-W-F?). How does that sound?

2)  Instagram: So last week Instagram added video to its site, and users can now upload 15 seconds of video.  I understand about storage limitations, but am I the only one who thinks 15 seconds is inadequate? Artistically, I understand the whole less-is-more concept, and I realize I bring a complete inability to edit/curate to the table.  But 15 seconds is not a lot.

30? Can we lobby for 30?

3) Cancellations: I have tremendous guilt and anxiety about one of my little peccadilloes.  Very infrequently, I will cancel a physician appointment if said appointment creates a conflict with another inflexible calendar item.  This probably sounds bad, but as Skip points out, people cancel every day and other people try to get "worked in" every day. The whole thing cancels out.

This year we have made swimming lessons an absolute priority.  We need to nail down swimming once and for all, and all other activities are taking a backseat to swim lessons.  Therefore, when I noticed a conflict with a routine appointment, I decided to cancel.

For me, calling the office to inform that you cannot confirm the appointment is analogous to calling off from work with a flimsy excuse.  Ugh.  It's simply unthinkable.

"No, I'm sorry, we won't be able to make it."
"..."
"Can we reschedule?"
"Well, we can't get you in for quite a while." [Insert passive/aggressive maneuvering here.]
"I understand, and that will be fine."
"The only thing I have is [many weeks away] at 8:00am."
"Fine." [Of course that's all you have.]

Ugh.  

4) Target Stop Sign: So you know how the Target store front is set up? Stop signs are positioned on either side of the street passing in front of Target, creating an enormous crosswalk for customers entering and exiting Target, correct? Stop signs, as in all traffic stops (whether there are pedestrians or not) and then yields for any crosswalk foot traffic.

Friends, nothing makes me want to channel my inner Nancy Botwin more than when drivers fail to stop and/or refuse to yield.

5) 6/30: The Feed + Target collaboration is available on June 30th. 

FEED's mission is described as:

FEED Projects' mission is to create good products that help FEED the world. We do this through the sale of FEED bags, bears, t-shirts, and other accessories by building a set donation into the cost of each product. Thus the impact of each product, signified by a stenciled number, is understandable, tangible, and meaningful.
Read about the collaboration here, and preview the collection here.

6) Millennials: Know any 20-somethings who are currently navigating early adulthood? This book is full of practical advice.  For those of us past that decade, the book probably reads like a flashback. 


How was your first weekend of summer? What's happening with you today?

Friday's Quote

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Today's quote is in honor of our friend, Ms. Jennifer Sharp, who was taken from us unexpectedly this week.  Ms. Jennifer worked in the infant nursery at our church and took care of the girls and, later, George.  We will miss her terribly.

Mickey Mouse Decorations

At the beginning of last year's school year, we received a note home about three opportunities to help with the (rather large) kindergarten class.  Of course, there was the room mom position, and they were looking for a room mom helper and a volunteer.  I responded by saying that I was sure there was tremendous interest with helping in a room mom capacity, and therefore, I would be glad to help out either as a helper or classroom volunteer.  Long story short, I was happy to serve as room mom for the 2012-2013 class.

As it turns out, the room mom position is not as busy in elementary school as compared to preschool.  Since parties have virtually been eliminated (boo!), my responsibilities included picking up pizza for the class for the Christmas party and decorating the lunch room for the kindergarten graduation/celebration.  That was it for the entire school year, and that was simple enough.

The only possible problem would be my complete inability to be crafty.  Although I come from a family of crafters (e.g., very talented seamstresses, knitters, crocheters, etc.), my skill set does not include anything crafty.  I have never owned a glue gun; I don't sew; in fact, my family is fascinated when I sew a button on a shirt; I cannot paint; and, as I quickly learned, I am completely flummoxed by Hobby Lobby.  My friends, in the 10 days I spent on the decorations, I went to Hobby Lobby more than I have ever frequented any craft store in my entire life.  Each visit, I found an associate as soon as possible and asked where I would find whatever was on my list that day.  Because, as I quickly learned, crafting is very much a trial and error endeavor, requiring many adjustments and necessitating many return visits.  The Hobby Lobby? A DIY quagmire.

In fact, after an initial visit or two, the idea of throwing some money at the decorating challenge was tempting. However, I needed 20-25 centerpieces and many other decorations, and the franchise surcharge on Mickey Mouse gear made the notion of outsourcing cost-prohibitive.  Once our dining room had morphed into a crafting ground zero, Skip even suggested hiring the whole project out, but ultimately we all agreed that doing so would create a new low for room mothers*.  Therefore, I rolled up the sleeves and took a shot at the near-impossible: impressing six-year-old children. (Please don't tell me the obvious... that it only becomes more challenging with each year of age.)

In addition to crossing the threshold of Hobby Lobby, I  entered unchartered territory by joining Pinterest.  I know, I know... I am the last person to join, and I only did so under duress.  Not that the site isn't lovely, mind you, because it is, if you're into that sort of thing.  Anyrate, Pinterest was a lifesaver because it eventually led me to a couple of sites with downloadable Mickey Mouse decorations.  While my crafting abilities are limited, even I can manage printables.  After printing 100 or so Mickey decorations, I came up with a low-cost centerpiece idea.

I started with this:

Then after cutting them out, attaching them to painted yellow sticks, I added ribbon:

And then took the red Solo cup to new heights by making a low cost (but laborious) centerpiece:

Were I to do this project again, I wouldn't insist on painting the sticks yellow (one of Mickey's accent colors), and I definitely wouldn't apply a second coat (ahem, OCD).

The site also had some easy-peasy printable banners, as well as some Mickey/Minnie silhouettes that were great for the walls and doors, but I needed something extra - something special.  One of the ways I give away my Southern-ness (other than my obvious accent) is my penchant for personalization.  Admittedly, I like monogramming, and I was hopeful the kindergarten class would respond favorably to seeing their names incorporated in the theme.  A second site offered printable Mickey silhouettes, and after printing 40 of them, I spent many hours cutting them out.  In fact, I attended a city meeting with the silhouettes and cut out about a third of them.  I was crafting -- in public!

Anyway, after personalizing them, I affixed bows on the girls' silhouettes because only a Minnie silhouette would do.  The duo LOVED this and were definitely impressed.  The Mickey/Minnie graduate wall turned out like this:

This is the genius of personalization and its tremendous return.

I also tackled a Mickey Mouse balloon wreath.  The duo and their class loved this also, and therefore, I left it with their teacher (unfortunately forgetting to photo the wreath prior to the event).

Hands down, the best decorations of the day were provided by the students themselves.  Lining one wall were self-portraits and the students' own words about why s/he have enjoyed kindergarten.  While the duo and their friends enjoyed the Mickey decorations, one can never out-craft six-year-old children.  I was totally upstaged, and not by a small degree. 

All in all, my decorating experience was good, and the lovely fellow moms who helped decorate were awesome.

*In full disclosure, I totally outsourced the balloon arch to a local florist.  (I'm not good with balloons.)

Feedly

Since the clock is ticking for Google Reader (the service shuts down on July 1st), the time has come to consider alternatives.  By way of confession, I'm not a huge Reader user, although I have an account I check from time to time.  For the sites I peruse, I prefer to go to the actual site.  For sites that update infrequently, I check on the Google Reader occasionally, and it makes sense to have a back-up plan in place rather than waiting until the day after the plug is pulled.

Ok, admittedly, I probably would have waited until July 2nd to explore alternatives, but Sarah James at Whoorl.com did the research for me (and you!) and put together a thorough detailing of how to use Feedly.  You can read about it here.  

Enumerated Update

Hello, friends!

How was your weekend?  Ours was glorious, in that nothing-planned, just-hanging-out kind of way. Here's what's happening with us:

1) Apple: I'll go ahead and confess that we watch the Apple Keynotes the way most people watch the Superbowl.  Now, we don't follow the industry rumors and try to speculate about new product releases or anything over-the-top like that (if you do, that's totally cool), but we do like to see what they have up their sleeve.  I still say that the moment Steve Jobs held up the original iPhone during the 2007 Keynote will go down as one of the more memorable inventive moments of my lifetime.
Although we are not Airbook or pro users, we are excited about Mavericks to say the least.

Also, and I readily admit this will solidify my nerdy reputation, I always enjoy seeing Woz in the audience.

Did you watch? What was your favorite reveal? If you missed it, at least enjoy the promo of the Berlin store opening.  

Also, here is a video that didn't make it into the Keynote.  It's riveting:




2) Apple TV: By way of update on our Appletv purchase, we like it, although we still do not view much television.  However, if someone had explained to me earlier that I would be able to use my iPhone as the remote control, we would have bought this product years earlier.

3) Jerry Seinfeld: Season 2 of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee debuted last Thursday at noon and features Sarah Silverman.  This is not a rated G production, but is so... incredibly... funny.  Skip and I have an ongoing debate about the funniest guest (sadly, it isn't Silverman).  My pick is Larry David, and Skip's pick is Alec Baldwin.  Baldwin is the more obviously funny guest, and you might be tempted to think that happens to be because he is the funniest.  Not so.  I think he was the more rehearsed guest, and that makes a big difference.  We are looking forward to the Letterman episode this week, and we recognize fully that his performance could go either way.  We could see the comic genius Letterman or the surly Letterman.  One never knows.  Check it out here.

4) Best TV Series of All Time: The Writers Guild of America recently released its list of the 101 best written TV series of all time.  Seinfeld ranked #2, behind The Sopranos.  This list is interesting for two reasons. First, all of the garbage on television is stripped away, leaving some pristine entertainment. Second, many of these shows originally aired back when I actually watched television. See a connection? When it was good, more people watched.

Anyrate.  With all due respect to the Writers Guild, I'm going to have to disagree with the order.  I liked The Sopranos.  I definitely did.  But Seinfeld reigned supreme.

See the full list here.

 And that's it for us.  What's happening with you?

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, but an especially warm wish to three.  First, to my Dad, thanks for all of the love, kindness and support, as well as the immense love and affection you show my family.  Next, to Skip, thank you for being a wonderful father. The monkeys love you to the moon and back, as do I! Finally, to Ralph, we thank you for all the love and innumerous ways you demonstrate your love for our family. 

Fun fact:  My Dad is one of the most avid readers of this site.  I mean, he could pass a comprehensive examination on the content, including some of the more obscure posts.  :)