Spring fever follow-up

Yesterday I mentioned how Twitter was torturing me 140 characters at a time. Today, it's iTunes. Here are a few of the songs to avoid if you find yourself in a similar state of mind.

Island in the Sun, Weezer
Walking 2 Hawaii, Tom McRae
Santa Cruz, The Thrills
Big Sur, The Thrills
Fragile, Sting (only because I once saw IMAX movie about the ocean that was set to this … and I saw it in Colorado)
Lodestar, Sarah Harmer
Feel Us Shakin, The Samples
Wild River (Colorado), The Samples
In a Big Country, Moe
Float On, Modest Mouse
Surf's Up Tonight, Midnight Oil
Mexico, Leona Naess
Streets of Gold, Latch Key Kid
Summertime, Joshua Rouse
Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
In a Daydream, The Freddy Jones Band
It Don't Matter, Donavon Frankenreiter
Free, Donavon Frankenreiter
Don't Fence Me In, David Byrne
Beautiful World, Colin Hay
West Coast, Coconut Records
Moment in the Sun, Clem Snide
Big Blue Sea, Bob Schneider
California Stars, Billy Bragg & Wilco
Gene Autry, Beulah
Littlest Birds, Be Good Tanyas
Today is the Day, Apollo Sunshine
Anything by Bob Marley

And I'm not embarrassed to admit:

Sailing, Christopher Cross
Sweet Freedom, Michael McDonald
Anything by John Denver or Jimmy Buffet

A little dead inside.

This time of year, sitting behind a desk is a little like being in prison (minus the toilet bowl hooch). While a world in green waits tantalizingly on the other side of my office window, I'm trapped in a den of Fluorescent lights, stale artificial air and the hum of unknown machinery. To make matters worse my Twitter feed is increasingly becoming my siren song. Just this morning a guy I follow mentioned having donuts at a place I've been to on Solana Beach in California and it just about killed me. Man, what I'd give to be on a beach somewhere … or maybe just sitting on a mountain in Colorado. Anywhere, just as long as there's no concrete, no exhaust fumes, no hustle, no bustle, no shirt, no shoes and nothing to service.

Of course, that all takes money.

Therefore, I'll be here again tomorrow.

Happy Earth Day

This is what it's all about.

For those of you with kids, here is a great book, with a great message illustrated by the amazing Bob Staake—get it and while you're at it, pick up all of his books.

Crib Notes: Month 11

We're just about wrapping up the kid's first year, so it seems like the perfect time to finally get the 11th month post done!

It was a busy one for the little guy. It started with the two top teeth popping through and a whole new thing for mom and dad to clean up - baby vomit. I think it was just another side effect of teething, but it appears to be happening more and more as Park continues to discover new foods and test how much he can fit in his mouth at once.

It was also my mission to transition Park to two good naps rather than three short ones before his one year birthday. Luckily, it took about two days to get him on his new schedule. Now, the possibilities are endless. Lunch at noon instead of 10:30 a.m.? No problem! Swim lessons at the only time they're offered? Sign him up! Accomplishing more than just one load of laundry during nap time? You bet!

The kid still hasn't discovered the freedom those two things we call "legs" will get him. For now, he just rolls over and over and over until he gets where he needs to go. He's pointing at anything and everything. And he's imitating the dogs when they're barking (he grunts) and panting (he pants), making motor sounds for his toy cars and any other toy that he makes move like a car, and claps for Zoe when she's playing fetch. He's hitting the bottle hard, too. After being called "lazy" by the nurse at his 9-month appointment, Park is now holding his bottle and sippy cup - unless he's tired or finds better things to do with his hands, like point or turn the pages of a book.

We also spent just over a week nursing Park's very first cold. Yes, we made it to 11 months before any kind of illness. I'm grateful for that, too. Hearing that little body cough is painful when there's not a whole lot you can do.

Here's a look back at the last month.

One last snow brought out the little bear bunting suit from the closet one last time.


Grandma Barbie taught Park how to make car noises when he's rolling his cars (or any other toy) around the floor.


Park enjoys eating out, especially when there's a pretty waitress to flirt with.


Craig introduces Park to a teeter totter at Exploration Place.


No more sitting in the Bumbo seat on top of the table - we finally got Park a highchair. It's actually this cute little chair that attaches to a dining chair but is also portable. And yes, that placemat was Craig's back in the day.


To see more photos from the last month, visit Craig's photo gallery. The password is "Yoga."

Pickled

Last weekend I decided it was time to get serious about the yard work. I had put it off for a couple of weeks only because I knew it wasn't going to be a one-and-done deal and it's a little daunting to know that once you start, you're pretty much committed for five months of shitty one-day weekends. Besides the usual mowing, edging, weed whacking and hedge trimming one of the first things I had to tackle was the enormous amount of weeds that had sprouted up in our flower gardens. So the question became, do I spend a couple of days pulling them (only to have them resurface in a week or two) or do I go all Saddam Hussein on them? My relative lack of patience ruled out option one and the tree hugger in me made option two out of the question so I went to the Internet in search of an alternative and the solution surprised me.

Vinegar.

That's right, plain old vinegar.

The above picture was taken just one day after making one big dandelion and clover salad in my backyard.

And while I know some of you might not be interested in the whole green aspect of this approach, think about this.

One bottle of vinegar: $.99

One bottle of Round Up: $15.00

Happy Easter

Park wasn't all that impressed with the Easter bunny. Maybe it had something to do with the first cold he was dealing with, or the fact that he was too young to enjoy the yummy chocolate he got in the easter egg. I have a feeling next year will be a different story.

Happy Easter!