a bunny ache

Last Christmas, I bought myself a gift from Natalie. It was a book called My Quotable Kid in which I could record all of the wonderful, amazing, funny things she would say once she started talking in earnest. Yesterday I finally made my first entry.

We were reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Natalie is now able to fill in the words of some books as we go. So, for instance, we read:

Mommy: In the light of the moon a little...
Natalie: egg
Mommy: lay on a...
Natalie: leaf. (She's very big on nouns.)
Mommy: One Sunday morning, the warm sun came up and ...
Natalie: POP! (the rare onomatopoeia)
Mommy: out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry...
Natalie: caterpillar.

It's adorable.

So when we got to Saturday in the book, we alternated reading the list of food the caterpillar had eaten that day. Natalie was able to help with most of the words -- pickle, cheese, ice cream, melon -- you get the idea. At the end of the list, there waits a very sick looking caterpillar.

We continued reading.
Mommy: That night, he had a...
Natalie: bunny ache.

I laughed of course. And I squeezed her and kissed her. A lot.

freakin' fabulous

Last year I started an ambitious campaign to be more ladylike. If you know me, you know what I mean by "ambitious." I went through Emily Post's book of etiquette searching for things that are applicable to my life. (Calling cards? Notsomuch.) As it happens, there wasn't a whole lot that was applicable to my life.

I did learn that when offering felicitations to a bride, you should never say "congratulations." That implies that she "won" something when really it was the groom who "won" over the bride. You should say "best wishes" instead. How I remember that and not a million other more important things is beyond me. I also managed to learn how to eat using the continental method, which is enormously impressive to me (and only me, I'm pretty sure).

But the truth of the matter is that there just isn't much Emily Post can tell me about life in the 21st century. So I was delighted to find Freakin' Fabulous by style guru Clinton Kelly. It's full of fascinating and useful tidbits such as when to salt and pepper your food, what not to bring to a dinner party, and how to write a good thank you note. And it's funny!

394.2644 -- Worst Oktoberfest

Last weekend, Matt and I traveled minutes from our house to Germania's Oktoberfest celebration. We always enjoy Germania's Oktoberfest, and we have a tacit agreement that we'll go every year. But now that Germania's has ended, we decided to try some other area celebrations.

Hamilton, just north of us, is known neither for its culture nor its class. But since Matt and I are fans of Oktoberfests wherever they may be, we had to try Hamilton's annual celebration at least once. And having tried it once, we will never go back. The highlight of our trip was the authentic biergarten look of the area. It was cool and dark, save for the bare bulbs strung between the trees. The festival seating, the crowds, the German beer (Spaten even!) was all very authentic.

Then there were the lowlights. Despite the fact that the band was dressed in leiderhosen (denim leiderhosen) and playing brass instruments, the music they played was awful. YMCA? Love Train? Do they know any German songs? We didn't even hear Ein Prosit, which is inexcusable. The whole song lasts only about 30 seconds. They couldn't learn it for Oktoberfest?

And the food. It might have been good, but there were 200 people in line for the "real food" so we settled for German desserts. We decided to try their Black Forest cake and a cream puff. They brought out these (and other) desserts still in their Costco packaging. Could you not try to make it seem authentic? The huge pretzels we got to tide us over (while the men drank their Spaten) were cold and a little wet. Ew.

So, instead of waiting an hour in line for bratts, sauerkraut, and schnitzel, a lot of people chose the much shorter line for that other old German tradition. Southern pulled pork BBQ? Seriously? I shouldn't have been surprised when I saw someone walking by with a "German eggroll" sitting on his plate, nestled between potato pancakes and sauerkraut balls. But I was. I was surprised and disappointed. Not wanting to wait in line or spend any more time there than we needed to, we opted to forgo the German food... at least until MainStrasse's Oktoberfest next weekend!

771 -- Photos!

More pictures from our trip to Camp Atterbury!

Click each picture to make it a little bigger. Matt's parents got to go on this family day, too, so there are some great shots of them below. It was such a fun day! I think active duty companies should do this too... it's a great family building exercise. And the range was nothing like I envisioned it would be. My only regret was that it came so near the end of our military life!

Getting ready for the range meant suiting up in kevlar vest and helmet and wearing foam earplugs. Protective eyewear was also provided, but Matt conveniently forgot about that so we didn't have to wear it!

I got to shoot first. The targets seemed really far away, but using the laser sight was SO easy!

Terrie went next... she made it through her clip in about half the time it took me! (I would never make it in close combat. Maybe I was a sniper in another life :)

Dan was last to shoot. Everyone did really well hitting the targets, which I attribute to Matt's excellent zeroing prowess. (And our killer instincts ;)

Matt arranged for several humvees to be available. We got to see the tracking system they use (like a glorified GPS) and the supercool Long Range Scout Surveillance System. This is me waiting in line to check out the LRAS. (This is also the first picture of the bump!)

Terrie was amazed at the view through the LRAS!

We ended the day with a mini-tour of the .50 cal range. A group of soldiers was qualifying on a machine gun, and we got to watch. The coolest part was watching the red tracers disappear into the distance. Man you would not believe the range on those guns!

We also got to check out the simulation trainer, which is just like an arcade game where you shoot at bad guys. But instead of simulating people enemies, they used turkeys. (I think this was because we had a lot of kids there, and they didn't want the kids to shoot at people, even if they were simulated.) I didn't get many good pics of the simulation part, because it was inside and dark. Very cool to see what the guys do when they are away. I have learned more about the workings of the Army during Matt's two years in the Guard than I did during his 4+ years on active duty!

355.370973 -- Camp Atterbury Family Day

Matt's National Guard Troop meets once a month to train for upcoming deployments or just to keep their skills sharp. This past weekend they spent at Camp Atterbury, a training facility for National Guard soldiers from across the country. The only difference was that this time, their families got to go with them!

I don't have all the pictures back yet, so I will have to post more later, but the day was a blast! We got to fire M4s, crawl around on some Hum-vees decked out with lots of cool toys, visit a simulation trainer, and watch as a couple of soldiers fired rounds from a 50-cal mounted machine gun! The coolest part was definitely getting to fire the M4, but I enjoyed the whole day.

This is one pic of me firing the M4 on the actual range that the guys use when they have to qualify on their weapons. I hit all the targets! Instead of the targets popping up and down randomly, the control tower just kept them all up. So it was a lot easier than the guys usually have it, but for my first time ever firing a weapon, I think I did pretty well! There will be more pictures and another post later! So exciting!

917.5 -- Myrtle Beach recap (finally!)

Matt and I returned over a week ago from our week of sun, sand, and surf in Myrtle Beach. Everything was wonderful, and the weather cooperated nicely. We spent one day in Charleston, getting our history fix at Ft. Sumter and several WW2-era navy vessels. The rest of the time we spent in our room, around the pool or on the beach. In fact, except for our Charleston day, we spent over 4 hours on the beach every day!

The view from our hotel room was great! We spent lots of time on our balcony reading or just relaxing.

This is a picture of Ft. Sumter from the ferry. It was really cool, but we didn't feel like we had enough time. Since you come and go by ferry, there is a limited amount of time for wandering.

Where the Ft. Sumter ferry docks there are also some historic naval vessels that you can go aboard and explore. We saw the carrier and the submarine. Matt's grandfather was on a carrier just like this in WWII, which made it all the more interesting to see what naval life was like at that time.

On the way home, we stopped in nearby Wilmington, NC to visit with Karen and Clay -- two friends from our Fort Drum days. And of course, at the end of the exhausting car trip, we enjoyed seeing Cincinnati from one of our favorite views.

917.69 -- Mini Trip to Kentucky, day 2

After a restful evening on Saturday night, we got up semi-early to go to Mass on Sunday. (Because it was Ft. Knox, and because it was a Mass for soldiers in basic training, it was slightly amusing :)

We had a hearty breakfast back at Joe and Jenny's house before we headed to Heaven Hill, a bourbon distillery on Kentucky's "bourbon trail." Although they don't distill the bourbon at the Bardstown facilities anymore, the museum, tour, and bourbon tasting (none for me!) were fun and enlightening!

Bourbon has to age for several years. In that time, it's stored in oak barrels. The barrels are stored in "ricks" and the ricks are located in ... rickhouses! Original, huh? This is an inside view of one of Heaven Hill's rickhouses.

We only had time for one stop on the bourbon trail this time, but Matt and I will be back. We've visited three so far, and it's a pleasant drive from our house. It's only a matter of time until we get to them all!

After bidding farewell to Joe and Jenny, we had a pleasant drive back to Ohio. What a fun weekend!

917.69 -- Mini Trip to Kentucky, day 1

Matt and I spent part of Memorial Day weekend with his parents visiting his sister and brother-in-law in Kentucky. To make the most of our two-day trip, we headed from their house straight to Louisville for a much-anticipated trip to the Louisville Slugger Museum. It was more educational than I expected. Not only did we learn about bat-making, but we got information overload in the newly-renovated museum area. And we scored mini-Louisville Sluggers!

After the museum we made our way to the Louisville Slugger Baseball Field to catch some great minor league baseball action. The Louisville Bats (as in flying mammals, not wooden clubs) are one of the "farm teams" for the Cincinnati Reds. The game was not as intense as a major league game, but the experience was really fun. The stadium was amazing, and all the seats were SO close to the field! Plus, it was much cheaper than the cheapest seats at Great American Ballpark.

I don't know if you can see the golden retrieve (circled) next to home plate. He was the "bat boy" for the Louisville Bats. He came out after most at-bats and retrieved the bat! He and his handler also played catch on the field with a frisbee between innings and before the game. At the seventh inning stretch, the dog actually took a basket with towels and water bottles out to 3rd base for the umpires! How fun!

The ball park was really fun. You could walk the entire way around it, and there were fun things for kids to do when they get antsy during games. My favorite -- although I didn't ride it -- was this carousel!

At the end of the day, it was back to base camp for a relaxing night of summer picnic food and watching the Reds lose to the Cleveland Indians :)

917.5 -- Vacation

I need a vacation. Everyday life is starting to get to me, and I no longer look forward to going to work, working out, or even just vegging around the house. Watching movies or tv, reading, home improvement projects ... I can't get into anything. Definitely time for a vacation.

Our plans are finally set. If you're curious where we're going, look no further than the Dewey Decimal number that tops this entry :-)

011.625 -- Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Books

Lately I haven't been able to finish any of the books I've started. I'm definitely in a slump. This isn't because I'm reading bad books. I don't blame the books. Well, not this time.

I do have a short list of most hated titles. These are the books that have wasted my time, sucked out my enthusiasm for reading, or put me to sleep. Among them:

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Lolita Effect by Gigi M. Durham
Dirty Martini by J. A. Konrath
Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie McDonald

I've recently discovered that most people are more likely to remember their favorite books than the ones they despised. What about you? Any books that you'd never recommend in a million years?

016.394 -- Birthday Festivities

Saturday, to celebrate both our birthdays, Matt and I spent the afternoon at a Cincinnati Reds game. It was a scorcher of a day, so we avoided our seats in full sun and settled in some shady upper deck seats. The game was pretty awful, but the food was good, and the tickets were cheap. To make it even more fun, it was free fleece blanket day!

When the day was over, we crashed back at our house to enjoy good food, great company, a warm campfire, and a breezy starry night. What a great day!

694.6 -- Necessity and invention

Our back yard is a good spot for entertaining small groups. And this spring/summer, our birthday/bbq/misc celebration/mini-reunion parties will be made more festive by the really unique tiki torch holders my handy husband devised last year! I was so impressed and overjoyed at what he came up with that I wanted to post a picture here. (Last summer got away from me, so they've been waiting a whole year!)


These got rave reviews at last year's parties, and are perfect (I would think) for raised decking like a balcony where tiki torches would otherwise be impossible (or really dangerous). Cool huh?!

621.815 -- Fantastic Contraption

I have always liked puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, logic puzzles... I like the satisfaction of having figured out the solution to a problem.

For the last month, I have been obsessed with a unique new puzzle game called Fantastic Contraption. I don't even remember who or what turned me on to this addicting game (if it was you, THANK YOU!), but there is no doubt that I am hooked.

There are 20 free levels in Fantastic Contraptions, and the premise is always the same. Get the pink item (ball, square, or rectangle) into the pink Goal area. Sounds easy enough, but I guarantee you'll be stumped at least once.

The contraption I'm proudest of? The puzzle level was called Back and Forth, and let me tell you, it's a toughie! Here is a still of my solution, but click here to see the thing in action.

Spoiler Alert! To see more of my contraptions, click any of the links below. Some are more fantastical than others!
Unpossible | Uturn | Mission to Mars | Mind the Gap | The Wall | Full Up | Around the Bend | Big Ball | Four Balls | Tube | Awash

780.78 -- Piano Men

We got our tickets in the mail awhile ago, but it has just hit me... We are going to see Billy Joel and Elton John in concert!

I have been a huge fan of Billy Joel since I was a kid, and I've wanted to see him in concert for at least the past 5 years. Problem was, I never remembered to check for tickets until it was too late. They sell out fast! Luckily for me, there were three concerts within easy driving distance from me this year. Unluckily for me, Cincinnati was sold out, and Indianapolis only had seats available behind the stage. No good. Although it's on a Tuesday night, the concert we booked in Columbus will be a memorable night I'm sure.

Now to brush up on my Elton standards :)

629.277 -- (mini) Road Trip!

Thanks to a certain handy someone, I now have the perfect accessory for a beautiful spring day -- a new car radio of course! A few weekends ago, while I was busy catching up with the girls, Matt installed a new radio in Little Blue, complete with CD player (goodbye cassettes!) and iPod connection!

I've loved driving to and from work listening to my playlists and 18 presets, but 20 minutes just does not allow for maximum music enjoyment. Luckily, I am heading to Columbus for an FRG Conference this weekend. While I'm a little nervous about sitting through all those seminars, I cannot wait to be out on the road with my new toy. And since Matt's meeting me in Columbus (he's coming from his two-week-long Annual Training on the eastern part of Ohio), I get to listen to whatever I want! And sing as loud as I want!

Just be glad you're not going with me :)

394.2622 -- April Foolishness

I'm not big into college sports. Let's be honest. I'm not really into sports much at all. So until I met my friend Karen, I wasn't even aware of a school called Clemson. Karen's crazy about her alma mater, though, so I now know the logo, the mascot... I think I've even heard the fight song!

Now that I know of Clemson, of course, it pops up everywhere. I notice sports scores, news headlines, and while going through old newspapers for work, I found this clipping from the local Hamilton, Ohio newspaper. (Click to view a larger image. It's readable I promise!)

Of course I forgot to write down the year, but this snippet ran on April 4. Judging from the Clemson Wiki, it may have actually happened in March of 1982. Evidently, they never found out who did it!

155.925 -- Friends

While Matt and I were at Ft. Drum, I made some of the best friends I could imagine having. Earlier this month, they converged on Fairfield for our first reunion in almost 2 years. Of course we have been keeping up to date on each other, but no amount of blog postings or emails could replace actually being together.

Jackie, Erin, Briana, Karen, and me
Jackie and Karen posted more pics on their blogs. Check them out!

778.53 -- Talkies

Monday Matt and I attended an advance screening of Tom Cruise's new movie Valkyrie. The movie is based on the fascinating true story of an attempted assassination of Hitler on July 20, 1944.

The movie was just okay. I liked it enough that I'm glad I saw it, and I could even watch it again. I didn't like it enough to buy the DVD -- or to pay theater prices. I really enjoyed the historical aspects, and seeing Tom Cruise in an unweird role (Eyes Wide Shut much?). I wasn't riveted the whole time, but it was pretty interesting.

We wanted to see the movie of course, but seeing it at an advance screening was really cool. Neither Matt nor I had ever been to one! Did you know, they overbook the theater to make sure they're playing to a packed house? When we got there an hour before the start time, there were already a lot of people in line! There were also seats up and down the aisles reserved for journalists and reviewers.

It was really cool to be there! And since we had wanted to see Valkyrie anyway, neither of us could pass this up. What a fun evening!

784.83 -- Old band members never die...

... they just wait for their second time around. Needless to say, this marching band was my favorite entry in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. These former marching band and flag corps members, from either high school or college, missed marching way too much to stop. All ages, all abilities. Don't they look like they're having the greatest time?! Here is their official site.

791.4375 -- Picture show

As a kid, I can remember sitting in our living room watching old James Bond movies during TBS Bond marathons. With only one TV in the house -- and my dad a decided Bond fan -- it was either 007 or nothing. Two years ago, I gave Matt the complete set of Bond movies on DVD as his "deployment extension present." So now there's really no escaping it. And truth be told, I actually really liked Casino Royale and Daniel Craig in the title role. So I was happier than I expected to find out that Matt already bought us tickets to Quantum of Solace for Friday night. I can't wait!