• personal,  travel

    the (frozen) orange bowl

    All the ‘menfolk’ except Timmy went to the Orange Bowl last night.  Grandpa took a picture with his phone for me.  And do you notice what the boys are doing in the below picture?

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    We were all supposed to go (including Mom, Timmy and me) but it was so freakin cold here in Florida last night (36 degrees) at half time, we decided to take a pass and just watched at home.

    High only in the 50’s today so looks like the pool and beach are out for the rest of the trip. Oh, well. There’s still the balcony.

  • personal,  school

    winter music

    The boys at their winter concert. It’s a little like “where’s Waldo?” but with Jack & Patrick. They played the drums and did a great job, but being all the way in the back makes it hard to take any decent pictures of them during the ‘band’ portion. Oh, well. It’s not like I don’t have any pictures of them.

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    For the chorus finale they sung “holiday lights” with multi colored flashlights. It was pretty cool.

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    Still in Florida but looks like we are done with the pool & beach. Pretty cold down here (only in the mid 50’s today) but I am NOT complaining, cause it’s still significantly warmer than home. And it’s still pretty and sunny and colorful (not brown & gray like NY). And tonight is the Orange Bowl where we are ALL going. It’s supposed to be in the 30’s- OMG. That IS cold.

  • personal

    the kindle (version 2.0) & 2009’s reading list

    John got me a Kindle 1 for Christmas 2008 (although I opened it early cause I just couldn’t wait). And for this Christmas I sorta bought myself the Kindle 2. There is a reason for this. Really.

    I’ve been spending about $300 at the bookstore every other month to load up the big boys on new books. They love (and I mean love) to read and fly thru books like crazy. So… I am giving Patrick my Kindle 1 and my dad is giving Jack his Kindle 1 and both of us got Kindle 2s. See, makes sense.

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    They got new skins (in blue and red, of course). And they haven’t put them down since opening them Christmas morning. I think they have both already finished two books a piece and are working on their third.

    So I got a nice new (pink, of course) cover for my new Kindle 2.

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    And here’s a list of the books I’ve read in the 2009. Not a bad run.

    1. The 8th Confession- James Patterson

    2. Against Medical Advice- James Patterson

    3. An Almost Perfect Moment- Binnie Kirshenbaum

    4. Angels & Demons- Dan Brown

    5. Best Friends Forever- Jennifer Weiner

    6. Bones: An Alex Deleware Novel- Jonathan Kellerman

    7. Cross Country- James Patterson

    8. The Gate House- Nelson DeMille

    9. The Gold Coast- Nelson DeMille

    10. Handle with Care- Jodi Picoult

    11. Just After Sunset- Stephen King

    12. The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini

    13. Memoirs of a Geisha- Arthur Golden

    14. The Neighbor- Lisa Gardner

    15. Obsession: An Alex Deleware Novel- Jonathan Kellerman

    16. Peony in Love- Lisa See

    17. Private- Kate somebody

    18. The Reader- Bernhard Schlink

    19. Relentless- Dean Koontz

    20. Revolutionary Road- Richard Yates

    21. Run for Your Life- James Patterson

    22. Shanghi Girls- Lisa See

    23. Snow Flower & the Secret Fan- Lisa See

    24. The Stand- Stephen King

    25. Swimsuit- James Patterson

    26. A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khaled Hosseini

    27. To the Scaffold: The Life of Marie Antoinette- Carolly Erickson

    28. UR- Stephen King

    29. Water for Elephants- Sara Gruen

    30. The Weight of Silence- Heather Gudenkauf

    31. When Will There Be Good News- Kate Atkinson

    32. Your Heart Belongs to Me- Dean Koontz

    33 & 34. Twilight- Stephenie Meyer (read twice)

    35 & 36. New Moon- Stephenie Meyer (read twice)

    37 & 38. Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer (read twice)

    39 & 40. Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer (read twice)

    41. The Road- Cormac Mccarthy

    42. Atonement- Ian Mcewan

    43. Alex Cross Trial- James Patterson

    So, all in all, thats 43 books in a year. I guess I know where Jack & Patrick get it from, huh?

  • bsquared business

    2009 holiday cards

    Figured it was ‘safe’ to post these now as I’m thinking everyone has sent and received their cards.

    I placed holiday card orders for no fewer than 43 bsquared clients. It was a very busy year. (that 43 doesn’t include the 10 or so birth announcements, thank you cards and invitations from 09 either.)

    Here are some of the flat cards:

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    And some of the folding cards:

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    And also a thank you to my clients who used my pictures on their cards (but purchased the cards elsewhere) and sent me copies of their cards so I could see what they came up with. It was so great seeing all those different ideas and designs. Plus, it’s always nice to get some extra mail!!