While Kati and Nate have been at the hospital, I’ve been staying at their house to take care of Miss Lilah Mae. She has been such a good girl for the past couple of days – she’s had to spend a lot of time home alone while I’ve been driving back and forth to the hospital. Tonight we’re snuggled up on the sofa and just hanging out. She’s soaking up every minute of it!
Snuggly Lilah
And, of course, I need to add another Chloe picture. I seriously can’t stop holding this baby. I’m so sorry to everyone that I took her from today.
Sweet Chloe
I don’t know how I’m going to go back to work tomorrow… all I want to do is sit and stare at her! She is such a good baby and Kati & Nate are already amazing parents!
Today my niece Chloe made her grand entrance into the world. She was born at 4:13am after 28 hours of labor. My sister is absolutely amazing… I am in awe of how strong she is! Chloe weighed in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 20.75 inches long. She is absolutely perfect!
Nate is already an amazing daddy – it’s so cute to see him snuggle Chloe! And now for the first few pictures – they’re just from my cell phone (there are a ton on my good camera).
Baby Chloe and Tante AnnaChloe Noelle
I can’t believe how quickly you can fall in love with someone… tonight the family was visiting them and I just sat for a minute in awe of how much love was in the room. It sounds so cheesy, but it’s completely true. I decided that I wanted to be “Tante Anna” which is the German word for aunt. I grew up with Tantes, and I thought it would be nice for her to have a little bit of her German heritage. My mom is Oma (German for grandma) which I absolutely love. I think we’re all in shock that she’s finally here!
Well, new blog means bringing the bucket list over. I think everyone should have one… a list of those once in a lifetime things you want to get done. Does it matter that you do all of them or that they’re everything you dreamed? Absolutely not. It matters that you’re reaching for these major milestones in life. In 2012, I crossed two big ones off my list – running my first marathon and riding my bike up the Alp d’Huez.
Yup, you read that title right. Today Pope Benedict XVI joined Twitter. His English-language account is @pontifex (there are also seven other language accounts) and I’m not gonna lie, I followed him. Along with over a million other people.
Over the years I’ve tried not to post religious or political stuff here or on Facebook. For me, those are both very private things… and I feel everyone has the right to make their own decisions about both. Generally, those discussions lead to nothing but arguments anyway. I respect people who choose differently than me, as long as their decisions don’t impact my right to decide.
All of that said, I’m Catholic and for years have wondered how the church was going to “get hip”. Let’s be honest, the Catholic church hasn’t been “cool” for a long time. If you look at the bulk of the people in your church, most of the time it’s older folks. In my years of singing and directing choirs I’ve constantly wondered what the parish would look like in 25 years because when I looked around I didn’t see people my age.
Back to the Pope. I really like the Twitter idea. I think it’s a cool way to reach out to the younger , technology driven generation. Today he answered questions tagged with #askpontifex. We’ll see where it goes from here, but I think it’s a great way to reach out new and existing members.
Today the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the 2013 inductees. There are four categories: Performers (singers, vocal groups, bands, and instrumentalists of all kinds), Non-Performers (people who primarily work behind the scenes in the music industry, including record label executives, songwriters, record producers, disc jockeys, concert promoters, and music journalists), Early Influences (artists from earlier eras, such as country, folk, and blues, whose music inspired and influenced rock and roll artists), and Side-men (musicians who have spent their career out of the spotlight, performing as backup musicians for major artists on recording sessions and in concert). Occasionally, they will add in a Lifetime Achievement Award. Artists are eligible for induction into the Hall twenty-five years after the release of their first record. The Hall of Fame also reviews the influence and significance of the artist’s contribution to the development and continuation of rock and roll.
Those are some pretty influential folks! I hope to visit the R&R Hall of Fame in Cleveland one of these days… maybe I’ll need to add that to the bucket list!
Plot Summary (from IMDb): The three Bondurant brothers run a bootlegging operation during the depression, up in the mountains of Franklin County, Virginia. Crooked Special Deputy Charles Rakes is after a share of the brothers’ profits. Compounding their troubles, the local competition is elbowing in on their activities. Forrest’s boisterous defiance and Cricket’s knack for moonshine production help the brothers gain a local monopoly. When Forrest is wounded as tension with Rakes escalates, Jack, initially the timid one, must prove his worth against gangster Floyd Banner’s mob, and we see him metamorphose into a cocky exhibitionist in his attempts to woo the off-limits preacher’s daughter, Bertha.
Rating: On Demand.
I really liked this movie. Until yesterday, I had not even heard of this movie, with the exception of one Dish commercial. Mike suggested we watch it yesterday afternoon. I was very surprised that there were not more previews for this. It’s actually based on a true story and a novel written by Matt Bondurant, the grandson of Jack Bondurant. I think they did a great job casting and the movie flowed very nicely. Definitely give this one a try!
Ratings Explanation:
Theater: This means the movie is awesome. Go see this movie in the theater – well worth the $100 you’ll spend for a night out to see it on the big screen!
On Demand: Since no one actually rents movies anymore, this category has changed to On Demand. This means it’s a great movie, but it is as good at home as it is in the theater and worth seeing a little sooner.
TV: This means the movie is ok. Wait for it to show up on HBO and see it for free.
This morning I wandered down to check our game camera and spent a big chunk of the walk wishing I had brought my Canon. We didn’t have much that was too exciting on the game camera – although we did get a pretty cool young buck with fuzzy antlers. That was back at the end of July… the camera batteries died around mid-August. I guess we need to get down there a little more often!
Fuzzy Antlered Buck
I hiked back up to the house and decided to grab my camera and hike back down to take some property pictures. I figured it would be a good chance for me to practice playing with lighting and different settings. Here are some of the pictures I took – if you want to see them larger, just click on them.
Moss On The Trees
I love that you can actually see the spider web on this one… when I took the picture I was just trying to get close up to see the greenery! Not bad when your camera picks up things you didn’t see with your naked eye!
Mushrooms On A Log
This picture is the whole reason I went back to get my camera – I spotted this on the other side of the creek when I was putting the batteries in the game camera. They had such a cool color to them and the lighting was just perfect!
Vines
The creek bed is lined with oak and other various trees – they have these great vines hanging from them that grow all the way down to the ground. In the spring it’s pretty spectacular, but they’re kinda neat to see in the winter when they’re really exposed.
Oak Arch
I love the trees that grow funky… this is one the good ones – this oak just keeps bending! I love all of the greenery around it too! Well, that’s about it for my photo blog today. It was so nice to get outside and take a closer look at our land… I need to do this more often!
Last night Mike and I watched “The Dark Knight Rises“, the first movie we’ve watched with our new surround sound. We missed this one in theaters and have been patiently waiting for it to come out On Demand. Apparently Shadow thinks that the subwoofer creates thunder in the house, so he ran around barking for most of the movie. We’ll have to work on that.
Plot Summary (from IMDb): Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight find Gotham at a time of peace. This is due to Batman taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s murder. However, a new evil force named Bane has arrived in Gotham and aims to take over the city and expose the truth behind who Harvey Dent really was. Now that Wayne Manor has been completely rebuilt – Bruce Wayne has become almost reclusive, rarely leaving the estate. And with Bane taking over the city by force, it forces Batman to come out of retirement. But his allies are few and far apart. An elusive jewel thief by the name of Selina Kyle could be the key to stopping Bane – but whose side is she on?
Rating: On Demand.
I think this would have been a good movie to see in the theater, but if you have a good sound system at home, it’s probably just as good. To be honest, I didn’t totally love Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. I don’t know why, but there was just something off about her as that character. That said, of the Batman movies, this one was probably one of my favorites – it had a unique storyline that made it different from all the rest.
Ratings Explanation:
Theater: This means the movie is awesome. Go see this movie in the theater – well worth the $100 you’ll spend for a night out to see it on the big screen!
On Demand: Since no one actually rents movies anymore, this category has changed to On Demand. This means it’s a great movie, but it is as good at home as it is in the theater and worth seeing a little sooner.
TV: This means the movie is ok. Wait for it to show up on HBO and see it for free.
Some things just blow my mind. Earlier this week, Gilt and Starbucks announced they would be selling 5,000 special edition steel Starbucks cards.
Steel Starbucks Card
Let me fill you in on a little secret. I have a Starbucks gold membership. You know how much I pay for it? Nothing. Want to know how much that costs me? Thirty items a year at Starbucks. That’s right… I have to buy thirty drinks or snacks a year (that I would have been buying anyway) in order to get free ones every twelve (and one on my birthday). That’s all a gold membership is.
This new fancy steel card costs $450. That’s right four hundred and fifty dollars. Here’s what you get for that (from the Gilt product offering):
Fashioned out of solid stainless steel, the card costs $450, but comes pre-loaded with $400, valid for drinks, food, and merchandise at participating Starbucks locations. Beyond that, you get automatic My Starbucks Rewards™ Gold Level membership, which entitles you to perks like a free birthday drink, and a free drink or food item after 12 Stars (some restrictions apply).
Ok, two things:
The gold level membership is essentially free to us commoners that don’t have $450 lying around to invest in steel. You get the membership by simply buying stuff at Starbucks.
Does the “some restrictions apply” make anyone else nervous? If I walk into Starbucks with a $450 piece of steel in my hand, I better get whatever I want.
Here’s the best part… the 5,000 limited edition cards sold out in less than five seconds. Merry Christmas.
Never forget. Words we now associate with September 11th. Yet some sixty years before that horrific day, America suffered another terrible tragedy that should also remain in our hearts and minds.
Today is the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On the morning of December 7, 1941 the Empire of Japan launched an unannounced two wave attack on the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In total, 2,402 American lives were lost and 1,282 were injured. This action directly led to the American entry into World War II.
When I was much younger, I had the opportunity to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. Even as a child, I recognized what a special place it was – the remains of many of its crewmen are still today trapped in the ship below the surface. To this day, air raid signals give me the chills. Some ten years later I got the same feeling when visiting Ground Zero in New York. There’s just something eerie about standing in a place where horrible things like that happened – almost like you can feel the fear, panic, and despair.
USS Arizona Memorial
Pearl Harbor was the first time in modern history that the American people really felt truly vulnerable, something I think my generation wouldn’t fully understand until September 11, 2001. As overused as the “Never Forget” phrase can be, I think it’s so important for us to do just that – to become complacent and think that nothing bad will happen because we’re America is incredibly dangerous. More importantly, I think it’s so incredibly important to support, remember, and honor those who have fought (or are fighting for) our country.
Down The Road I Go 