tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62450772011-07-08T06:06:17.843-04:00Readjustment to life in the States after three years in SwitzerlandGretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.comBlogger22551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-7928705972615954412009-06-09T13:59:00.002-04:002009-06-09T14:00:45.221-04:00

I love this picture! And it was a self-portrait!

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-9269624036026378502009-05-31T21:37:00.003-04:002009-05-31T21:42:33.046-04:00

Just to prove we're still here...

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-53053210930253194312009-04-30T13:44:00.011-04:002009-04-30T14:05:21.746-04:00

Poor blog. You're so neglected. I can't even remember the last time I wrote a blog post. That's what happens when you join Facebook... the blog gets lost and forgotten.This year, Madchen got to experience spring break for the first time. Not because we took her to some tropical spring break destination, but because 2 of her Wisconsin cousins and her Tante (my sister) came to stay with us

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-36918950509506455982009-04-29T21:31:00.003-04:002009-04-29T21:33:55.500-04:00

I know, I know, the blog has been dormant. Here's a self-portrait (Mädchen insisted I cuddle with Cookie Monster one afternoon) just to prove we're still here.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-53074543437968077842009-04-18T10:32:00.018-04:002009-04-18T13:38:45.402-04:00

We left Basel in March 2007, and we hadn't been back since. So I was thrilled to find out I had a meeting in Basel on April 1. I got in touch with a few friends who told me they had a group going up to the Alps for some late-season skiing from March 26-29, so I got clearance from a very jealous Gretchen to go early and have a few days of fun. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I found out

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-49251858232744835322009-04-11T11:19:00.004-04:002009-04-11T15:41:47.243-04:00

I just got back from a great few days back in Basel (about which more later). One of the things that always gets me is how different the nature of the news is here and there. Not that I can actually read the news there since it's in German, but I generally can figure out enough to get the gist. Here, it is not uncommon for murders in DC to either go unreported or, perhaps, to get a short

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-58377637627919938092009-04-04T14:33:00.007-04:002009-04-04T19:40:16.632-04:00

We are in the midst of a very momentous occasion. Since Mädchen was born almost three years ago, Gretchen has never been away for the weekend on her own--not once. Until now, that is.It's not that she hasn't wanted to go away, or that I haven't wanted her to, but circumstances just turned out that way. First, Mädchen refused to ever take a bottle. As a result, while Gretchen was nursing it

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-30333536536612853472009-03-27T21:58:00.002-04:002009-03-27T22:04:39.473-04:00

I'm not generally much of a Michael Gerson fan since half of his columns are about what a Wonderful Person our former president is, but today's column about "the importance of writing to the process of thought" really hit home. Maybe it's because I like to think things through via writing, or maybe it's because I've written enough speeches for others to know how much each word can matter, but

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-81100417296995442292009-03-26T12:36:00.002-04:002009-03-26T12:43:26.518-04:00

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of our departure from Basel. I wonder how many more years I will mark this anniversary. I wonder if we will ever NOT miss our life in Basel. Don't get me wrong, we're enjoying our life here, we're not living in the past, and we have (finally) settled in well. But Kirk and I do still get nostalgic for our expat life, especially for the travel we did and for

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-54804897662862132812009-03-25T21:47:00.004-04:002009-03-25T21:55:25.855-04:00

Way back in the day, I was a high school teacher for a few years. It was a fantastic experience that I wouldn't trade for anything, but it was also the most draining and emotionally taxing (not to mention worst-paying) job I've had. One of the things that was difficult about it was that you always had to be "on"--maybe on a very rare occasion you could be lazy and show a video, but by and large

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-76363171397941060682009-03-25T21:38:00.003-04:002009-03-25T21:44:46.010-04:00

I wonder how upset Gretchen would have been if Mädchen had fallen in the water while throwing sticks because I was taking a picture instead of holding onto her? I'm going to go with "even more angry than when I rolled her stroller." That seems about right.(Thankfully, all was fine. And she's got a heck of an arm.)

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-67620006277202538302009-03-25T21:13:00.003-04:002009-03-25T21:36:48.000-04:00

Not too long ago, if we ever wanted to give something away but didn't have the energy or room in the car to take it to Goodwill, all we had to do was take it to the curb and it would be gone within hours. There was no need for Craigslist--this was as good as guaranteed. One side of our neighborhood is along a busy street with lots of big apartment buildings with a large immigrant population,

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-9659242289598997192009-03-25T21:09:00.002-04:002009-03-25T21:13:38.065-04:00

Oh yeah, with a yard like this, who wouldn't want to be our neighbor? It would be even better if we had (a) the hose running from our backyard to the front, (b) lawn ornaments, or (c) either a vehicle on blocks or assorted car parts. Just give us time...

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-84226995905840300072009-03-22T21:54:00.002-04:002009-03-22T21:56:29.328-04:00

Sunny skies and lots of laughs...

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-8570585998466338582009-03-20T13:47:00.001-04:002009-03-20T15:53:53.376-04:00

I've never been much of a sci-fi fan (the Star Wars series aside, which I'm not sure even counts as sci-fi). I'm sure much of my antipathy to sci-fi arises from simple personal taste. But a contributing factor is probably that, as a kid, every time I'd introduce myself, people would say things like "Oh, Captain Kirk? Beam me up, Scotty!" Yeah, that's really clever--never heard that one before.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-63508661568102240022009-03-18T09:35:00.000-04:002009-03-18T09:40:42.903-04:00

(1) Last night we caught the second mouse, and I safely released it outside this morning. I just hope mice don't have an innate sense of returning from whence they came (kind of like those dogs and cats you sometimes read about who somehow wander hundreds of miles back to their home after being abandoned by their owners).(2) The only reason I did several posts last night was because Gretchen told

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-11331900524000294952009-03-17T21:30:00.001-04:002009-03-17T21:32:14.392-04:00

I never forget how lucky I am to have these two in my life:

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-43488447308036128202009-03-17T21:24:00.002-04:002009-03-17T21:30:34.844-04:00

I'm as unhip as they come, but saw a review in today's Post of a free download of a remixed Outkast song. Turns out the price was right for the whole album (i.e., free), and after one listen, it's kind of fun (assuming you even remotely like hip-hop music). I could see it making its way into the iPod rotation, especially the aforementioned Outkast song.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-72235926696962007352009-03-17T21:23:00.002-04:002009-03-17T21:24:13.390-04:00

Just for the record, this is something we never saw when we lived in Switzerland, nor is it something I plan to try if I'm able to visit in a couple of weeks.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-88145924921266139562009-03-17T21:10:00.002-04:002009-03-17T21:21:41.796-04:00

At one point on Saturday, we were all in the kitchen and Mädchen all of a sudden pointed toward the dishwasher and said she saw something moving. She wouldn't go near it, but we just figured she had been spooked by a reflection of some sort and didn't think anything of it.So imagine Gretchen's surprise on Sunday night when she went back into our family room and there was a small shrew or mouse

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-22908125601281399032009-03-14T14:52:00.000-04:002009-03-14T14:53:17.031-04:00

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-84913191642335465082009-03-11T22:13:00.002-04:002009-03-11T22:21:55.513-04:00

I don't want to jinx it, but it's looking pretty likely that I'll be attending a meeting in Basel in a few weeks. Woohoo! I haven't been back since we returned to the States, so I'm really looking forward to it (assuming it actually happens). As if Gretchen weren't jealous enough already, I got in touch with good friends to see if they would be in town the weekend before, and he said they were

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-26025413160862435072009-03-08T12:04:00.003-04:002009-03-08T12:18:00.357-04:00

I've known this day was coming for some time, but that doesn't make it any easier:As of the end of February, I no longer have Senator status on Lufthansa.Back in my globe-trotting days, I got spoiled by the extra benefits that came along with this status: shorter check-in lines (usually), priority luggage arrival at baggage claim (at least in theory), and most importantly, access to the lounge

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-50612542527898260802009-03-07T22:31:00.001-05:002009-03-07T22:32:20.219-05:00

Here's another Facebook post that I figured I'd put on the blog as well...* * * * *"Think of 20 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people and emotions. When you finish, tag 20 others, including me. Make

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-84985855219969770712009-03-07T09:48:00.002-05:002009-03-07T09:57:07.544-05:00

Last weekend, friends invited us over to their place for dinner. Gretchen and her friend met through our daughters, and Mädchen and their daughter are good friends.When we finished dinner, their daughter asked to sing a song. Turns out they have a tradition that when they've finished dinner and their daughter has been a girl, she picks a song and they all hold hands and sing together. So we

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-40802621316894910902009-03-06T21:20:00.002-05:002009-03-06T21:28:28.495-05:00

Yesterday I heard from a colleague that a colleague/friend and her husband had been in a bad accident in Basel. Turns out they were walking in a crosswalk in one of the busiest/craziest intersections (Aeschenplatz, if you know Basel) and a car plowed into them. When you're a pedestrian there, it's easy to get complacent because you have the right of way and most drivers are very diligent about

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-1354233160637567502009-03-06T21:16:00.003-05:002009-03-06T21:19:13.035-05:00

When I got home tonight, one of the first things I said was: "It smells like B.O. in here--did you make tacos?"Based on Gretchen's reaction, that's evidently not how one's wife prefers to be greeted at the end of a long day. Duly noted.(And for the record, she had made white chicken chili, which was delicious. But the house DID smell like B.O.)

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-73766707577250799732009-03-05T22:00:00.001-05:002009-03-05T22:01:51.599-05:00

The snow we got this week? Awesome.Forecast for 75 degrees on Sunday, as well as the start of daylight savings time? Even better.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-16437120881298382582009-03-05T21:18:00.002-05:002009-03-05T21:51:25.182-05:00

Tuesday night when I went to my car to go home from work, I was irritated to discover that one of my tires was completely flat. (This was especially bothersome since I just had to spend hundreds of dollars to replace two of the other tires.) I had noticed driving in that it was pulling a little funny at times, but I was also driving over a lot of ice and snow so I figured that was the problem.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-4864547828403925372009-03-02T12:48:00.004-05:002009-03-02T13:20:51.655-05:00

While not quite as much as originally expected, we ended up getting 4-6 inches of snow overnight. Woohoo! Since our roads weren't plowed, I decided to stay home this morning, and now I think I'll just end up staying home this afternoon too. I'll have to burn a vacation day, but we so seldom get a halfway decent snowfall that it's worth it.Even better, when we took her out for a cold walk (22,

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-72948819835450204932009-03-01T16:34:00.002-05:002009-03-01T16:39:47.156-05:00

As previously indicated, snow forecasts here tend to end up being duds. The local forecasters get everyone fired up, and then...pfffffft. Well, now they're saying we could get a fair amount tonight (although 4-8 inches is less than predicted yesterday). We'll see what actually happens, but we would be thrilled to actually get enough to make tomorrow a snow day.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-15104109611121844852009-03-01T15:22:00.012-05:002009-03-01T16:54:40.368-05:00

So, what's been up with us the past few weeks? Well...-- Our good friend Dave, who Mädchen absolutely adores, moved back home to L.A. to be with his partner. We're really happy for him, but are also sad to see him go.-- After the lightest dustings of snow, Mädchen actually agreed to try to walk in it. Given her usual reaction to snow, this was actually a pretty big deal (although tomorrow may

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-34671743620581974742009-02-22T16:51:00.003-05:002009-02-22T17:11:49.852-05:00

I still have a lot to learn about hockey (it wasn't exactly in my blood--let alone on my TV--growing up in Southern California). But we're lucky enough to have an amazing player (Alex Ovechkin) and a pretty good team (the Capitals) here in DC, so I'm trying to get a little more into it. And I don't think you have to know much about hockey to know that this is pretty amazing:

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-4664796212276542582009-02-22T15:39:00.002-05:002009-02-22T16:48:46.575-05:00

There obviously hasn't been much bloggage on our part lately. This has largely been a function of:-- Gretchen and Mädchen being in Wisconsin;-- My moving out of the house while they were away because the house was being painted;-- The painters forgetting to do the rewiring, which resulted in our being without internet access for several days upon our return to the (newly painted!) house; and--

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-13233682409856791512009-02-20T17:40:00.003-05:002009-02-20T17:41:40.922-05:00

Ama, this one's for you!

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-27344252522028663612009-02-12T21:16:00.002-05:002009-02-12T21:21:16.397-05:00

Other than Christmas, the happiest time of year may be...Girl Scout cookie season! Gretchen thought it was maybe a little excessive that I ordered five boxes of Thin Mints for personal consumption, but I can eat those bad boys all day long...

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-88528448416323861772009-02-12T19:24:00.004-05:002009-02-12T21:16:34.805-05:00

This is probably a post Gretchen should do, but since (a) she's in Wisconsin with Mädchen (where else would you want to be in February?), and (b) she doesn't have much time to blog anyway, I'll give it a shot.A few weeks ago we got a newsletter from Mädchen's preschool with instructions on what to do if your kid was planning to bring valentines to classmates. Our natural reaction was that of

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-63497505352612798012009-02-11T22:49:00.002-05:002009-02-11T22:55:39.836-05:00

This is still the best attempt to distract a free-throw shooter that I've ever seen:

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-46099808233405721952009-02-08T09:57:00.003-05:002009-02-08T10:10:01.237-05:00

Our dishwasher has evidently been leaking water into the basement for some time.We have squirrels and/or other critters living in our attic.We thought we might have mold spreading through our ducts, although the heating company thinks it's just dust. Either way, for someone with allergies it's not good.One of the light fixtures in our backyard looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.You need both

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-57172775780634564192009-02-07T12:53:00.002-05:002009-02-07T12:56:00.486-05:00

One way you can tell you've let your daughter watch too much Little Einsteins: When you're at the park and pushing her on the swing, she says "higher, Daddy...CRESCENDO!"

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-51767933368765168522009-02-05T21:54:00.002-05:002009-02-05T21:59:12.627-05:00

I first heard the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" when I saw the movie "Inside Man" on a long flight. I finally tracked it down and have been listening to it constantly on iTunes, but even that couldn't have prepared me for the sheer awesomeness of this video:

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-67806999462232766912009-02-04T07:01:00.003-05:002009-02-04T07:09:45.257-05:00

I'll admit that I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, but this one takes the cake.Yesterday, while picking up a preschool application at a local church (one that we've been attending with no regularity), I backed into the Pastor's car. And it made a dent in his car. Not mine, just his.I've always been known as a distracted driver. I commented to Kirk yesterday that it's somewhat amazing

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-22815866755138928382009-02-03T20:55:00.001-05:002009-02-03T20:58:03.123-05:00

Anyone who has lived in New York or spent much time there will probably get a kick out of this clever use of legos.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-89163576547562709272009-01-30T20:35:00.006-05:002009-01-30T21:40:56.437-05:00

Today is my lovely wife's birthday (no, I won't say which one). She's really into her birthday--some people (like me) can have a birthday that no one other than family and close friends knows about, whereas she wouldn't hesitate to drop it into conversation, let people in the office know (back when she worked in an office), etc. So I always want to do something nice for her like plan a dinner

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-78077047395575499162009-01-28T13:12:00.000-05:002009-01-28T13:15:29.537-05:00

Just for the record, after acting a little exasperated last night when I told her I'd joined Facebook, she got onto my account this morning and started linking around to various friends and said "THIS IS SO COOL!!!" We'll see how long she lasts before setting up an account of her own (or asking me to set one up for her)...Oh, and it really is pretty cool to be reconnecting with people from my

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-47780245746404063032009-01-27T21:34:00.003-05:002009-01-27T21:49:13.435-05:00

Despite this being a pretty cold winter so far, we haven't really had anything in the way of snow. (Actually, we haven't had much snow as long as we've lived here). They predict snow with some frequency, but they're usually wrong. This is the typical progression:DAY ONE - "We think there's a chance we might see some flurries in a few days."DAY TWO - "We can't rule out several inches in the

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-3699061342724612742009-01-27T21:33:00.002-05:002009-01-27T21:34:16.304-05:00

...I went ahead and joined Facebook. Gretchen's reaction: "This doesn't mean you're going to spend even more time on the computer, does it?"

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-62106767768004697442009-01-25T16:16:00.003-05:002009-01-25T17:16:56.324-05:00

Well, it's official.The allergist called back with the results of Mädchen's testing for nut allergies after her bad reaction, and it turns out that not only is she allergic to cashews and other tree nuts (which wouldn't have surprised us), but that she's allergic to peanuts as well (which threw us for a loop). When we visited the allergist, he actually thought that because of the relatively slow

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-30531413497743735112009-01-23T10:05:00.000-05:002009-01-23T10:33:19.055-05:00

1) While I still think Australia has the funniest town names (e.g., Woodenbong, Mullumbimby, Pallamallawa, Wee Waa, Blackbutt, Tittybong, Wagga Wagga, Woolloomooloo, Woy Woy, Humpty Doo, etc.), and even Switzerland had its fair share, I was pleasantly surprised to see that England has its own fun names. I really can't imagine having to tell people you live on Butt Hole Road.2) Seeing this awful

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-35434113789744390242009-01-22T20:19:00.008-05:002009-01-22T21:07:39.371-05:00

One of the curses of living in the DC area is the dreaded motorcade. You never know when traffic is suddenly going to be stopped to allow some bigwig with a police escort to get across town unimpeded. The most dreaded motorcade of all is the presidential (and probably vice-presidential too) motorcade, which generally involves street closures well in advance of his passing through, large numbers

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-61073566010440177302009-01-21T21:38:00.004-05:002009-01-21T21:51:02.445-05:00

Souvenir from my brother, who left New York City on a bus at 5:00am, made it to the Washington Monument to see the ceremony on one of the big-screen TVs, spent hours trying to get himself out of the city (along with 1-2 million other people...we had other friends who had an equally difficult time getting back), and finally made it out to stay with us last night:Mädchen, who somehow fell asleep in

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-187996403497405832009-01-19T21:14:00.004-05:002009-01-20T09:15:48.376-05:00

Well, tomorrow is the Big Day around here. We've wanted to really experience this inauguration, but between the crowds, the cold weather, and having a two-year old who doesn't always like crowds, we've pretty much resigned ourselves to experience it on TV (fortunately tomorrow is a day off of work for me).But it's been hard watching the coverage leading up to the inauguration to think about

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-90112378731861672412009-01-16T20:43:00.002-05:002009-01-16T20:44:41.353-05:00

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-16365942056223641152009-01-16T10:04:00.000-05:002009-01-16T10:21:41.077-05:00

This weekend, of course, is the lead-up to Tuesday's presidential inauguration. There will be balls, parties, a big free concert, etc...and I doubt we'll get anywhere close to any of it. (Although I'm really curious to see what crowds will actually be like--will it be the throngs of millions that were originally anticipated, or will so many people have been scared off by reports of the large

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-83416158067270659772009-01-15T21:13:00.002-05:002009-01-15T21:15:41.531-05:00

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-43290821725478107912009-01-14T21:24:00.003-05:002009-01-14T21:38:36.445-05:00

Tuesday morning I went into work late because I had to take down all of our blinds since guys were coming to install new windows. (As far as we know, our old ones were the original ones from the 1940s...several of them couldn't be opened because they were painted shut, cold air leaked in, raising and lowering screens and storm windows was perilous, etc.) As I finished up and was getting dressed

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-81972019157671259482009-01-14T13:20:00.003-05:002009-01-14T13:36:09.046-05:00

Not that I don't love my husband dearly, but I don't think I can stand to look at that mustached-picture of him for another day, so it's time I come up with something to post!We had expected it to be a fairly quiet week around here. Holidays are over, everyone is getting back to a routine, it's the calm before the storm of inauguration... but everything changed on Monday morning about 10:30 when

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-69773227581924103812009-01-11T10:37:00.003-05:002009-01-11T10:42:26.773-05:00

There are plenty of things in my past that I'm not especially proud of. One of them: the cheesy mustache I sported for a couple of years in college. Granted, I look especially dorky in this photo because my face is contorted from drinking some sort of evil tequila-based concoction (this was from spring break one year in San Felipe, Mexico), but I think that it's fair to see that even when I

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-52454398660641336042009-01-11T10:28:00.002-05:002009-01-11T10:36:53.182-05:00

The big excitement this weekend (other than riding on the Metro) was that I learned how to use our scanner to scan old, pre-digital photos--I was pleasantly surprised that it was quite easy to do. I only scanned a few, but in the spirit of the season (9 days until inauguration!), one was from when we attended the second Clinton inauguration in January 1997. That was a pretty sedate affair

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-57587903905760770392009-01-10T18:33:00.004-05:002009-01-10T18:50:36.699-05:00

In the spirit of seeing local sights as inexpensively as possible, I was watching Mädchen this morning while Gretchen went out with a friend and had to think of something fun to do with her. I decided to take her someplace she had never been before...the local public transit system! We got on, rode the Metro four stops, then rode back to our original stop. You may think that sounds utterly

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-70577156722508482372009-01-09T21:18:00.004-05:002009-01-09T21:40:48.800-05:00

One of the things we're guilty of is not taking advantage of all the things there are to do in the DC area. (Although, doesn't everyone do that to a certain extent?) Which is a pity, really, because (a) there actually is a lot to do and (b) much of it is not only 15 minutes from our house, but is also free (e.g., all of the Smithsonian museums). So, lately we're trying to get out more

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-43102551341416050492009-01-09T21:03:00.002-05:002009-01-09T21:14:05.439-05:00

Given how clumsy I can be, when I saw this story (and, in particular, the accompanying pictures), I had one of those there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I moments. I've fallen plenty of times getting off the lift, and I came really close to falling off of a lift when we were in Zermatt and I forgot to take my backpack off before getting on the lift, so I found myself basically hanging one cheek on

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-5726124055054607772009-01-04T20:10:00.002-05:002009-01-04T20:27:02.772-05:00

I don't know if we've mentioned it, but Mädchen absolutely LOVES to read books. She wants to read multiple books when she wakes up in the morning and after her nap, at the dining room table, before bed, when she needs a little quiet time, etc. We probably go through at least 15 books a day with her. (Lest you think we're bragging about her being a bookworm, rest assured that she also loves her

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-64593946824540962102009-01-02T16:46:00.004-05:002009-01-03T11:09:12.935-05:00

It's not often that I finish a book and immediately want to re-read it, but that happened yesterday afternoon when I finished Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. That's not to say I actually will re-read it right away, but I wouldn't be surprised if I do so in the next year. I bought it back when we lived in Basel, but hadn't brought myself to read it because I do most of

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-8605317506960970992008-12-31T21:09:00.002-05:002008-12-31T21:52:49.844-05:00

I was browsing the food section from today's Washington Post and came across two articles that brought back fond memories:(1) Way back in 2000 (or maybe it was 1999, I'm not sure), I sent in a postcard to enter a contest on a now-defunct local classical music radio station and promptly forgot about it. A few months later we were visiting San Diego when I checked my work voicemail and had a

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-83970641163256653342008-12-31T16:39:00.004-05:002008-12-31T16:48:44.340-05:00

All we're doing tonight is going to see friends for dinner, so we will almost assuredly be in bed well before the clock strikes midnight (hoping that a blast of cold, windy weather that rolled in today will keep neighbors from setting off fireworks), but want to wish all a Happy New Year (or, for those in Switzerland or Germany, einen Guten Rutsch* und ein gutes neues Jahr)!*Roughly, "a good

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-77698596498210589382008-12-27T13:12:00.020-05:002008-12-27T14:56:22.576-05:00

It's been a great Christmas week, even if it's been a bit of a whirlwind. It started on Sunday, when Mädchen's Ama arrived at the airport from North Carolina:Her arrival allowed us the rare treat of getting to go on an actual dinner date Monday night at a restaurant downtown we've been wanting to try for awhile, and it didn't disappoint. Tuesday morning we were in the car for a relatively easy

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-37116163979839566882008-12-27T12:55:00.002-05:002008-12-27T13:07:05.343-05:00

Our drive to Asheville to North Carolina at Thanksgiving was 466 miles, and we drove through only two states--Virginia and North Carolina. Our drive to New York for Christmas was half as short (according to Google Maps, exactly 233 miles), but we drove through five states--Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York--plus the District of Columbia, as well as Pennsylvania on the return

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-54011005396622184622008-12-26T21:55:00.003-05:002008-12-26T21:57:11.427-05:00

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-64472655507786750872008-12-25T14:47:00.007-05:002008-12-25T18:42:35.461-05:00

Some idyllic Christmas scenes:The winter wonderland that is the bucolic New Jersey Turnpike, where we dodged big hunks of snow and ice flying off of trucks......and a last bit of snow in Soho in a cold Christmas Eve rainstorm......alas, all that's left now is the occasional patch of dirty slush in the roadways. Sigh. But it's still better than DC, which has only had a few snowflakes this

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-67625074852872468972008-12-25T12:08:00.002-05:002008-12-25T12:16:46.418-05:00

We were riding the subway around in New York City yesterday (we're here spending Christmas with family), when Mädchen decided she wanted to stand and hold onto the pole instead of sitting down with us. Moments after Gretchen took this picture, I looked down and our daughter was happily holding on...and LICKING the pole. And what could be cleaner than a NYC subway pole?

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-88565785892853481392008-12-20T20:00:00.005-05:002008-12-20T22:23:19.775-05:00

'Tis the season for Christmas carols (which we refuse to listen to until after Thanksgiving). I finally loaded all of our old Christmas CDs into iTunes so we don't have to take them out of the attic every year, and it got me thinking about what my essential Christmas music would be. Nothing too exciting, but these would probably be my top ten choices (in alphabetical order):"Do They Know It's

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-62345051365311079162008-12-19T21:36:00.003-05:002008-12-19T21:52:59.176-05:00

...Mädchen does smile. A lot. I realized that she looks so serious in so many of the pictures we post on the blog, but she's actually a really funny little girl who basically never stops talking/laughing when she's with us or close friends/family, but as soon as we get the camera out the smiles stop (or she actually runs away). Then again, Gretchen's Dad (who was one of the most gregarious people

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-72914483276807672322008-12-18T13:20:00.011-05:002008-12-18T13:43:21.833-05:00

We've had lots of fun activities these days getting ready for Christmas. Last week, we had a cookie party and gift exchange with Madchen's playgroup (and my beloved Moms group). I'm not sure what she enjoyed more, opening presents......decorating the cookies......or eating the sugar and sprinkles that are supposed to go on top of the cookies!She got some more practice opening presents when a

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-11872569154425672692008-12-15T22:07:00.002-05:002008-12-15T22:12:14.400-05:00

...in which our goyische daughter discovers at a friend's house just how entertaining a giant inflatable dreidel can be...

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-6735379183968966602008-12-12T15:51:00.003-05:002008-12-12T19:53:24.226-05:00

Doesn't it stink when you get old and you just have to go to work on your birthday and it ends up being like every other day? I think everyone should get to take the day off to celebrate. Since that wasn't the case for Kirk today, I took Madchen into the city to see Daddy at work (pictures to come). To celebrate his special day, we had lunch with him at the cafeteria in his office building.

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-15262216278885152222008-12-11T21:04:00.002-05:002008-12-11T21:18:21.632-05:00

It's a bit long, but I enjoyed this because (1) if you didn't know it was satirical, there's enough of a kernel of truth about the Swiss that you might actually believe it; (2) the Swiss German accent brought back lots of memories (if you live there long enough, you can quickly tell from how someone speaks English whether they're German or Swiss German); (3) if I had to choose one stereotypically

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-6491297356259759592008-12-09T22:01:00.002-05:002008-12-09T22:05:04.268-05:00

Oh, sure, you may have gone to some fancy-schmancy, elitist East Coast school, but I'll bet your alma mater wasn't named the #3 surfing college in the country, was it? IN YOUR FACE!

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-84907396814081198172008-12-08T21:50:00.002-05:002008-12-08T22:04:27.483-05:00

I happened to come across this post last week about the author's daughter being obsessed with bad news, and immediately thought OH MY GOD THAT WAS ME AS A KID (which I promptly told Gretchen). It's an old joke in our family that when we were in Kindergarten (maybe preschool?) and painted pictures of our houses, I would paint big tornadoes in all of mine. Never mind that San Diego doesn't

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-7420026498627636062008-12-08T21:45:00.003-05:002008-12-08T21:50:15.729-05:00

When we got our Christmas stuff out of the attic, Mädchen managed to find our old VHS tape of A Charlie Brown Christmas in a bag with our Christmas CDs. Since then, I think she's averaged watching it at least 2.5 times per day. Time to start shopping for Snoopy accessories...

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-44335976750621129142008-12-07T14:18:00.011-05:002008-12-07T14:55:35.880-05:00

It seemed like Thanksgiving was later than usual this year, because Christmas is sneaking up FAST. So we decided to take advantage of last evening's snow flurries to go get a Christmas tree. As we were walking out the door, however, we realized we didn't find our old Christmas tree stand amongst the rest of our holiday decorations in the attic. OK, change of plans--we'd go to Target to buy a

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-88431119527799295212008-12-07T14:10:00.003-05:002008-12-07T14:18:43.744-05:00

Not that it was enough to do more than leave a light dusting that is pretty much gone by now, but it was certainly exciting to look at the window yesterday afternoon and see the first light snow flurries of the season. We haven't had a really good dumping of snow since we've been back, and I think we're overdue.Of course when we went out to run errands last night and pointed out to Mädchen that

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-680152267672698002008-12-05T14:23:00.002-05:002008-12-05T14:30:09.377-05:00

I'm sure we've written before about the VERY curious nature of our little girl. It's now become clear that we've entered the phase of the unanswerable questions.A couple weeks ago, she was examining my nose (very up close and personal, I might add) and wanted to know the name of all the parts. She was satisfied knowing about the nostrils and the bridge, but then needed to know more. "What the

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-9554699926608201912008-12-04T20:42:00.002-05:002008-12-04T21:02:11.873-05:00

I'm not quite sure what to make of this, but I just bought something on iTunes (The Moldau by Smetana) because I heard it when Mädchen was watching her current favorite show, Little Einsteins (each episode is based around a specific work of art and piece of classical music), and liked it. Aren't I supposed to be the one shaping her musical tastes?(Actually, come to think of it, she's recently

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-8041764047350358452008-12-04T14:09:00.004-05:002008-12-04T14:28:45.615-05:00

You may remember that last year at this time I posted about our neighborhood Santa who rides a motorcycle, rather than a sleigh. Thanks to this Santa, Madchen believed (last year) that Santa says: "Vroom, vroom", rather than "Ho ho ho".Well, here comes Santa Claus!This year I was brave enough to take a picture. After taking the picture, we stood outside this house for a good 10 minutes while

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-88807124035353610652008-12-01T21:40:00.000-05:002008-12-01T21:55:47.603-05:00

(1) Despite our complaints about the long drive, we had an excellent long weekend in Asheville. Mädchen got to spend many hours playing with her Ama, Gretchen and I got to go out on a couple of actual dates sans Mädchen, we ate well, etc. We don't have many pictures to prove it because our camera's batteries literally only last long enough to take one picture (yes, that's something we know we

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-26325058193949147842008-11-30T21:43:00.003-05:002008-11-30T22:10:10.764-05:00

When we originally planned to go to Asheville for Thanksgiving (which was a great weekend, by the way), we figured we'd wait and drive home on Monday to avoid one of the worst driving days of the year. That was the plan, at least, until I realized I had to be in Baltimore on Monday night for a meeting, which meant we had to leave today after all. The revised plan: leave in the afternoon, knock

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-54144543001512687292008-11-27T11:39:00.004-05:002008-11-27T16:10:53.121-05:00

The turkey isn't even in the oven yet, but not long ago all of a sudden Gretchen called out to tell me that the oven was on fire and WHAT SHOULD WE DO? (Evidently fighting fires is one of those tasks, like killing bugs or dealing with dead birds in the yard, where the stereotypical default response is to leave it to the male in the house.) Sure enough, it appeared that the pumpkin pies had

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-67795654867992737012008-11-27T09:18:00.003-05:002008-11-27T10:10:30.815-05:00

It's been years since we've traveled for Thanksgiving, but this year we decided to drive down to Asheville, NC, to see my Mom (it's mutually beneficial--she gets her grandchild fix, and we can actually go out on dates without a two-year-old). The only problem is that there's no easy way to get here. It's either an 8-hour drive on one of two generally unpleasant routes, or it's buying three

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-13929907952074145982008-11-21T10:43:00.000-05:002008-11-21T11:16:27.602-05:00

It was a small point of pride when living in Basel that I was able to say that I had never eaten at a McDonalds overseas. I wasn't a snob about it; it just didn't seem quite right to be eating such American food when living or traveling in another country (it probably helped that I very seldom ate at McDonalds before going overseas). I can only think of three times when I almost violated this

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-43289030577470253482008-11-15T19:41:00.003-05:002008-11-15T22:22:47.077-05:00

(1) This morningI ran upstairs to change my clothes this morning before taking Mädchen to her art class. Since she can't bear to be left alone and quiet for more than 30 seconds, it took her about that long to realize I was gone. Since she was standing at the bottom of the stairs yelling "DADDY! COME DOWN NOW!" at the top of her lungs, I figured I'd have her come upstairs to get ready as well.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-81525024913792763632008-11-14T19:38:00.001-05:002008-11-14T19:42:35.698-05:00

One of the small pleasures of life is the weekly Animal Watch in the Washington Post, which is often more about people than animals. Take for example, this past Sunday's gem:A woman found a bat in her home and said that it looked tired, so she let it rest for several hours on her chest.When she woke the bat, it bit her on the finger.God bless America...

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-63808220141201951942008-11-11T18:57:00.004-05:002008-11-11T19:07:26.151-05:00

Tonight we went to the bookstore to pick up this book for Mädchen:We also bought prune juice this week. You can guess what our lives revolve around these days...ADDENDUM: This is one reason we need to keep our blog active--if Mädchen is hanging around with the wrong crowd someday, we can always threaten to unearth and share posts like this with her friends. She'll love that.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-52928665099127984122008-11-08T15:34:00.004-05:002008-11-08T15:43:32.770-05:00

Neither Gretchen nor I have an artistic bone in our bodies (although Gretchen is at least gifted musically), but Mädchen seems to like to draw and paint, so maybe she picked up a recessive artistic gene somewhere. I've started taking her to an art class for toddlers, and while she seems to prefer dipping paint brushes in water rather than in paint, at least there's a chance that her right brain

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-71563677895189682142008-11-08T15:12:00.006-05:002008-11-08T15:34:19.550-05:00

Summer here is generally miserable and has few, if any, redeeming qualities.Winter is a mixed bag. It's not as damp as Basel (which is a good thing), but it can get colder. And there's typically not much snow, which is a drag (if it's going to be cold, my feeling is it may as well snow since it's much prettier than the typical drabness of winter).Spring is pretty nice. Sometimes it's too short (

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-48722314444788890122008-11-08T15:06:00.005-05:002008-11-08T15:12:28.950-05:00

No more election stuff, I promise, but I took a walk at lunch the other day to the Lincoln Memorial and came across this thing that someone had set up for people to sign in honor of the election--which, clearly, lots of people from all over the world decided to do:

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-14314064965136307662008-11-06T21:52:00.002-05:002008-11-06T22:01:35.019-05:00

Amidst the excitement of the election, I almost forgot that when we were driving to a nearby restaurant for an early dinner, we drove past an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile! Even Gretchen--who grew up in a city with a sizeable Oscar Mayer plant and so could be excused for being jaded about such things--was excited to see it go past. I guess there's just something magical about a gigantic hot dog

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-50149613784943300112008-11-04T21:21:00.001-05:002008-11-04T21:23:51.475-05:00

Couldn't have said it any better myself.For now, the "I Voted" sticker remains gloriously the same. Oh, some jurisdictions may dress it up -- Prince William's sticker is much jazzier than the District's simple white circle with the red "X" in the box -- but the message is clearer than ever: I kick it old school.

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-38869863705519992622008-11-04T20:24:00.003-05:002008-11-04T20:31:54.701-05:00

Here's my election report. Thankfully, my wait at the polls was much shorter than Kirk's. Madchen came with me to vote mid-afternoon, just after I picked her up from school, and I didn't even have to stand in any lines. In fact, we spent more time picking out treats and chatting with neighbors at the bake sale (which also sold juice boxes for all the little ones accompanying their parents to

Gretchenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14810040397858114893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245077.post-20481352960912308792008-11-04T15:05:00.005-05:002008-11-04T16:25:35.141-05:00

I don't want to go overboard on the whole election thing, but this is certainly one of the most--if not THE most--exciting election seasons since I've been voting. Last night, Obama had his last campaign event here in Northern Virginia. We half-heartedly joked about how we should try to go, but that just wasn't going to happen since the traffic (it was about 25 miles from here) and parking would

Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076964401233678093noreply@blogger.com0