Step Into the Nexus · Stimulation is the Goal

Congratulations to the American League (again *grunts under breath*). I wanted the National League to win of course. I am not certain about what the issue is, but one of the announcers feels that it has to do with the designated hitters.  Minus three points to Most Valuable Player Carl Crawford mispronouncing President Obama’s name.  What was that all about?

Throughout the game, I thought about my grandfather a lot. He would have loved to be at the game or would be glued the television from beginning to end. I miss Papa a lot and even more so at moments like this.

Our job let us off early today at 4pm because of anticipated traffic and blocked streets. I hope that the All Star Game generated a great deal of revenue for St. Louis businesses.

Despite the National League loss, I enjoyed the game. I also enjoyed the opening ceremony for the All Stars and when Stan Musial and President Obama came out. What was up with the camera man not getting a good view of the first pitch though? I thought it was pretty cool when President Obama joined the announcers in the booth.

No home field advantage for the National League this year, but hopefully that will not matter when the St. Louis Cardinals go to the World Series and beat whoever they play *smiles*.

Technorati Tags: All Star Game, baseball, entertainment, family, national, news, President Obama, sports, St. Louis, St. Louis Cardinals

Happy Independence Day United States of America.  This morning started off very gloomy with lots of rain and cloudy skies.  This fortunately allowed the entire family to sleep in late.  The twins woke up before me… I know because I heard them, but JT and I were able to sleep until 9:15 a.m. and I loved every moment of it.  I had some weird dreams near the end of my sleep, but nothing too disturbing.

Later in the day, we spent the evening with family, had some barbeque and watermelon.  I was surprised to see Keisha eat nearly two bowls of watermelon.  For some reason, William did not like it much.  He claimed to be full, but that is code for I do not want to eat this Mommy.

I would have enjoyed to go down to Fair St. Louis this weekend, but unfortunately it was only two days and as I mentioned it was rainy most of today.  I really wanted to dive into a plate of hot funnel cake and a cup of ice cold lemonade.  Maybe I can get a hold of some funnel cake elsewhere, but the problem is that not everyone makes good funnel cake.  I definitely do not want to drive out to Six Flags just get some funnel cake.  I cannot even ride any damn rides so there is no point in that trip.  What happened to the Fair being at least three days?  Very sad.

William and Keisha really wanted to pop firecrackers, but I had to tell them over and over again that they are just not old enough.  And maybe, just maybe I will let their father have that for them one day.  I much rather watch fireworks from afar with the professionals *sigh*

My husband and I are ending the holiday celebration with the blockbuster hit, Independence Day.  I remember how exciting this movie was to see in the theatre.  I hope that if a day like that in the movie ever goes down for real, that we have people like Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Randy Quaid to save the day.

Have a safe holiday.

Technorati Tags: barbeque, celebrate, children, Fair St. Louis, family, food, fun, Independence Day, Keisha, movies, pregnancy, St. Louis, William

After work today, I headed to the ice machine to load my cup with ice and water.  As I passed the breakroom, I saw Breaking News on CNN: Michael Jackson taking to UCLA after cardiac arrest.  I paused and wondered if he was okay and then I went on about my business.  Of course as I met JT in the car, I immediately told him the news.  Five minutes later as we arrive at daycare to pick up the twins, a radio personality announces that Michael Jackson is dead.  I screamed.  What the hell just happened?

I had to shake it off of me a bit so I could try and focus while picking up the children.  I called my mom first, asking her to turn on the news to verify this horrible news. I then called my best friend.  Mama called me back to say that Headline News and CNN did not report Michael Jackson as dead.  This is when the denial set in for me until later.  I kept hoping that this was not true.  There were conflicting reports everywhere.

Later, CNN finally confirmed that Michael Jackson died.  I was truly amazed to find out that he passed away much earlier than I originally thought.  He probably did in fact pass away when TMZ reported it first and later flooded to the radio and other mediums. Right after I left work.

I have truly been numb for a great deal of the evening.

Michael Jackson was a big part of my childhood.  I listened and (pretended to) dance to all of his music.  My husband is proably taking it worse than I am… and I am sure this really hit my brother and father hard.  I tried to call my father but he did not return my voicemail.  Still wondering about that one.

Thank you for the great music Michael Jackson and changing our lives.  My husband has declared karaoke night tomorrow as Michael Jackson night.

Rest In Peace King of Pop.  You will truly be missed.

Technorati Tags: Michael Jackson

I just bought two tickets for the midnight show of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen tomorrow. Actually it starts at 12:01 am on Wednesday, but yeah you know what I am talking about.  JT’s sister is going to pick up the twins from school and they will spend the night with her. I also have a doctor appointment tomorrow evening.  After the appointment, I hope to come home and take a nap before the movie.  Otherwise, no matter how good the movie is, I will fall asleep and this would be a major FAIL.

This will be the first midnight show of a movie that we have seen in a while. Before the twins were born, we used to do this all the time (for example: Star Wars, The Matrix, Spiderman… etc).

Now I am thinking about what food or candies to sneak into the theatre.  Or should I just eat before the show? *ponders*

Technorati Tags: appointment, doctor, family, fun, health, Keisha, movies, pregnancy, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, twins, William

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, godfathers and anyone else fulfilling the role of a father.  A special Happy Father’s Day to the love of my life, my husband, my soulmate… JT. He is a wonderful father to our twins, William and Keisha.  And I know he will also be a wonderful father for our little one growing inside of my womb.

I love you.

Technorati Tags: family, Father's Day, holiday, husband, love, marriage, parenting, personal, pregnancy

The graduation ceremony last Saturday was everything that I thought it would be plus more. The turnout was very nice for a classroom of about 21 children. There were many loved ones and friends supporting the graduating preschool class of 2009. William and Keisha, along with their classmates performed songs and dances in the following categories as stated on the program: Finger Plays and Poems, Year in Review, Directions & Positions and Rhythm and Movement.  My favorite part was the dancing.

Keisha sat in the middle front row and William was directly behind her.  For many of the initial pictures, I could not see William because he stayed right behind Keisha.  Then he later moved around and I was able to capture some shots when I placed the big boy lens on my Digital Rebel.  JT stood to the far right of the audience to capture everything on video.  I have not watched the video yet, but I look forward to seeing it.

Immediately following the ceremony, we had cake (marble cake, not a favorite but it was moist and tasty) and punch, socialized a bit and took pictures.  William did not want to smile in almost all of the pictures. I was only able to get him to smile after the crowd started to disperse.

After we left the preschool, we headed out to Kirkwood to take my brother home (he had to work that evening, despite me telling him to take the entire day off months ago).  Then we drove two hours to Lambert’s Cafe, known as the Only Home of Throwed Rolls.  What are throwed rolls?  Throwed rolls are rolls that the waiters throw at you during your meal… yes, they throw them at you and you have to raise your hands high (and even yell) to get their attention.  Once you get their attention and catch a roll, you better get a grip on it and lay it down on your plate soon because they are very hot.  We never dropped any but I saw lots of people miss the catches or caught and dropped them onto the floor.

I had a fantastic Saturday with my family and I am thankful to be blessed with such wonderful children in my life.

Technorati Tags: education, family, food, graduation, headstart, Lambert's Cafe, life, Missouri, personal, preschool, restaurant, school, Sikeston

On Saturday, June 13, 2009 my wonderful children, William and Keisha, will graduate from headstart.  My husband and I are very proud of them.  They have learned so much over the past school year… things like: writing their first and last names, counting to 100, improving on handwriting skills, letter recognition in words, spelling two, three and some four letter words and tying their shoes.

Of course the gross motor skills have also improved.  Cutting a variety of shapes with rounded scissors, skipping and tumbling and I cannot forget their latest adventure, learning to swim.

And this is just a brief synopsis of what you have learned over the year William and Keisha.

You have a grand adventure ahead of you my dearest twins.  Tomorrow you graduate from headstart at a location where you have gone to daycare since you were seven weeks old.  I remember when Daddy and I brought you to the school for the first time to meet everyone.  After graduation, your next adventure will be kindergarten this fall.

Whenever I think about this, I pause for a moment and wonder where has the time gone.  I am so blessed to have you two in my life.  I do my best to cherish every moment I have with you because you are growing up so fast.

Dearest William and Keisha, thank you again for your hard work at school and being wonderful children.  Congratulations and I hope you enjoy the surprise that is forthcoming from Mommy and Daddy.

I love you.

Technorati Tags: celebration, children, daycare, emotions, family, graduation, Keisha, kindergarten, life, love, parenting, personal, preschool, relationships, school, twins, William

Yesterday, a  good friend of mine told me about a syncing feature available through Google.  Google Sync allows you to synchronize data in your calendar and contacts between your PC and mobile phone.

Click the image to the right to enlarge.

If your mobile phone has Windows Mobile go here:  http://www.google.com/mobile/winmo/sync.html

If you have a different phone, check out this link: http://www.google.com/mobile/

The setup is very easy and can be done in well under 5 minutes.  My husband and I have AT&T Tilts and we are now in sync with our calendars and contacts.

If you need assistance, Google has a video on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt_-qHczCMg

The three things I like about this service most are:

1. Free. I can never get enough of Free.

2. When you make changes on the phone or PC the synchronization is almost instant.

3. Convenience.  If you have a lot of editing or updates to enter, the mobile phone keypad is not always convenient.  Hope on the PC to make the changes and you are done.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: AT&T Tilt, calendar, contacts, free, friends, google, Google Sync, internet, mobile phone, social, technology, Windows Mobile

Sadly, it does not take much for me to get addicted to internet crack. My recent addiction was Spymaster and now Restaurant City.

Restaurant City is a simple Sims-like game that is integrated with Facebook. What makes the game simple is that there are not many actions that you can take. Your job is to run a restaurant, cook food, keep your customers happy with food and other services and make money.

Were I begin to lose patience is the ability to learn new dishes. You have to accumulate ingredients by different methods such as trade, purchase and winning them on a daily quiz. Just seems like there is a slow process for advance in this area of the game.

I am now on Level 8 and have about 5,000 in coins (the currency of the game). When you level up you receive items such as being able to hire another employee and adding space to your restaurant. I have 5 employees and it would be nice to have another one now so she can clean the restaurant full time. I have to wait until about 2 more level increases though.

Do you play Restuarant City?  Drop a comment with some tips.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, free, friends, fun, games, internet, Restaurant City, social

Week 332

Say … and I think … ?

1. Hockey :: I am not a big hockey fan, but this makes me think of the of once when I went to a St. Louis Blues game.  I had a great time especially when there were fights.

2. Twirling :: My twins dancing around in the living room.  When they smile it fills me with so much joy.

3. Montreal :: Montreal Expos… now known as the Washington Nationals.

4. Better :: Weekends are so much better than weekdays.

5. New :: With a baby on the way, our family needs a new (used) vehicle. I am hoping for a van that seats seven people but my husband really wants an SUV that seats seven.

6. Rally :: I immediately think of the Barack Obama rally that JT and I went to last October at the St. Louis Arch grounds.  This was an amazing experience.

7. Stanley :: You can tell than that I am not a hockey fan because I thought of Stanley from The Office before I thought of the Stanley Cup.

8. USB :: I have many USB devices at my desk area and way too many cords to keep up with. I really should start labeling them. Some are mini USB others are not.  Some have the same shape but only work on particular devices.

9. Scouted :: Looking for good sports players in preparation of drafts.

10. Cough :: During this pregnancy I have not have a bad cough like I normally do.  I also have not had any asthma issues.  I do not think I have taken a puff from my inhaler in several months *knocks on head* I keep my cough medicine (gel capsules that make me very drowsy) available in my bathroom just in case.

http://subliminal.lunanina.com/um/ind/week_332/

Technorati Tags: meme, random, Unconscious Mutterings