Rejoice, that I haven't subjected you to this in a while. But I know you missed it so here are some fresh, glistening, open blisters.

You can tell I don't do sticks enough, when I get cool blisters like this from an afternoon of class. Also, "New Skin" stings like CRAZY on an open wound. FYI.

Sometimes strange things happen. Like, just now, I sneezed about twenty times in a row followed by there suddenly being a lot of snot in my previously free-breathing schnoz. This happens sometimes. I'm used to it.

I'm not used to my diabetic cat suddenly not being diabetic anymore. I didn't know this could happen. Apparently they see this sometimes with cats, but not dogs. The pancreas just starts doin' its thing again. Which is a relief, since I thought we were seeing another diabetic slow-motion crash, or that maybe he had an infected lump in his tail (he does have a sebaceous cyst, that's going to be dealt with in a couple weeks, it's not a big deal). But, no. Just that he was making his own insulin now so our dosing him with insulin wasn't doing him any good. No more insulin shots for our boy.

Jamie (who was totally great helping with vet appointments and remembering things and asking everyone really smart questions and dealing with me when I was fretting about my baby), opined that in this economy, everyone was cutting back on something - Xeurnix was cutting back on insulin costs ;). Thanks, love. For your humor and your help.

X is sleeping next to me as I write this. *pets cat* Well done, babycat. Well done.

An entry for the Amailah Appreciation League. Enjoy!

I've been remiss in my Religion and prolific with Sin of a chocolaty, malty flavor. So this morning, I actually did what I try to do about once a week, observed Saturday devotions at the Altar of the Rope.

During the week of course, I'm jumping rope with Jamie and we have a mostly regular routine. During my private worship, I hit the patio, or the gym, tell my iPhone to Genius me up some hymns, and away I go. This morning's list, 20m28s long, follows.

3:35 Epsilon Minus - Antigravity (sunsucker mix)
5:39 Grendel - Void Malign (amduscia mix)
4:59 The Azoic - Conflict (album version)
6:15 VNV Nation - Testament

Next year, all the goth kids will be taking their jump ropes to the clubs. You just wait.

It is with delighted maw that she greets all her most beloved toys. They are all her most beloved toys.

It is unfair that some things are entirely too delicious.

In the North, the snowy cold regularly falls preceding a visit from Southern climes. Some blame is jovially assigned. The conclusion is erroneous, the everyday stretched to cover the irregular. Nonetheless, to the question it is put. The hot iron is provided, gratis.

Puzzling marks, rosy, irregular on the flesh. Prodding them provokes memory but not pain. Peculiar and unexpected, respectively. A man made into a bellows, grunts and hisses accompanying. Stoking the fire within.

The realm visible contains all that can be seen, and all that is overlooked. Sophomoric, irritating, fact.

If we've left them behind, it's unkind of them to follow us, chewing their way from blistered memories to hallowed moments turned sour.

Leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Don't send a message, leave a comment on here. Next, re-post this in your notes and see how many people leave a memory about you.

Thank you for Year Three, my love. Here's to Year Four. I love you, every
day, all day.

This morning, with my bare hands, I dressed my daughter in ... velvet pants.

I swear, really, I do more with my life than take pictures of my kid and the kids in her company. However, I do take a few pictures of her and a steady stream of them is what keeps the ravening family and other adoring fans sated. It's a matter of self preservation, you realize.

Here's nhanie's son, Ethan, and Amailah napping together after a grueling evening of napping around on a group of knitters.

Someday, I should update this space with what I'm up to, myself.

Here's another batch of Amailah pictures, for those of you that are in to that kind of thing.

I'm thinking it's the cheeks. I can't put her in a hoody without evoking Emperor Palpatine.

The doom of worlds, she comes by cutely.

OK. So. Actually, I'm trying to determine the actual length of video I can record with PhotoBooth that 1) has sound 2) doesn't crash PhotoBooth.

It appears to be a moving target. Whatever. Here's a bunch of Bean video.

( Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends. )

Miss Bean appreciates that y'all follow her doings on these and other blogs and are not yet threatening to send in cease and desist orders. She would understand, she is terribly cute. So cute, looking at these might be a danger to your health if you happen to be diabetic or so inclined.

Miss Bean apologies in advance for any harm that may befall you while adoring her. Perhaps if you adore her a little more, you will not feel so bad while you are not well.

Enjoy!

It's a good start to the weekend.

mal and I took Friday off, put Bean in daycare, dawdled *achem*, lunched, then headed off to the City for California Academy of Sciences. We decided that the steep entry fee was not worth the short time we had before the joint closed early (wtf, we pick the day it closes early. Heh) so we headed off to the nearby Japanese Tea Garden and paid a delightful five dollars each to wander around for that same hour and half we'd have had in the Academy. Not very much dawdling there goes a long, restful, recharging way.

After that, we headed to the East Bay to pick up my elder daughter (I HAVE TWO!!!) for a weekend of Jeet Kune Do, catching up, adoring Amailah, talking about literature and people and sexuality, re-dying her hair and as it doesn't surprise me at all, Dance Dance Revolution.

iphy delightfully picked up Bean from daycare that day. We met her at home then headed out to meet some folks for pleasant hanging out and crafts. It was a very nice evening. mal posted some pictures.

Today, Serena and I headed out for some kung fu-derived martial arts, again. Today we did Advanced Trapping. She did great and we had a ton of fun.

This evening, after a day spent babysitting the Bean, Aunt cattycritic cooked us all tasty dinners and DDR'ed with Elder Daughter. That's two instances of Elder Daughter for DDR maximization. Awesome. They had a great time (I took a turn myself on the vinyl-esque dance floor!) and were very fun to watch. Bean thought so too!

It's a very, very good start. I'm sure the weekend holds more joy to be had :)

This is how we roll; hoodie, wrapped in a blanket, bottle half-drained, me with The Economist in hand.

It goes nicely with some slightly crisp Fall weather under a sunny blue sky.

There is no need to adjust your set. aalauber == paeyl.

Good day.

I'm back Friday from a business trip to Vancouver, Thursday, that I didn't tell you I was going on. On the days I was traveling the two locations were indistinguishable by the weather. Rain, rain, rain.

The trip was successful - the start of a move of 140+ racks of Engineering lab from one building to another a quarter mile away - and I'm always pleased to visit Vancouver. I got some exercise running from building to building. I'm pleased with what this told me about my cardio - it actually wasn't much exercise at all.

That picture there is part of 400,000 feet of Cat6 cable strung throughout the new lab to its 200+ racks. There is a lot of fiber in there too.

My team (it's still as weird to me that people call me 'boss' as a proper title as it is that people call me 'daddy' as a proper title - likewise good, but, weird) is still working up a storm in Vancouver. We are clever and are finding a lot of solutions, but this move should feel like "walk it across the street and plug it in" for the most part, but it does not. So, I'm sitting in my home office answering questions they have, coordinating efforts with IT, working on my Q408 budget (late, again), and helping with the Bean. I even managed to squeeze in a workout, but I'm missing class. Again. Sigh. Add it to the N frustrating things in my life. No, make that M. It's fatter and therefore more expressive.

Back to work for me.

My niece just had her baby! Oh yes, my niece, Rachel, daughter of my eldest sister, Malyn, and Rachel's husband, Mike, have been about to have a baby for a while now :)

Marley Elizabeth Merrill, 2:36 AM on September 27, 2008, 7lbs 9 oz and was 20 1/2 inches.

Congratulations to them all and best wishes.

P.S. Send pictures!!