Nella Vita di My Nephews

So after the glowing niece raves below I'd hate to leave the boys out...so some recent winter adventures...

The Happy Little Eskimo (it wouldn't be Dominic without the tears)

Anytime is a good time to play football!

Nella Vita di My Niece

Exciting news of the day is that my sister is going to have a baby girl! After years of shoot-em up video games, and football, baseball, hockey, wrestling, and body odor, I'm really happy to know that she will soon have someone in her life whom she can watch Lifetime Movie Network with (though with her luck she'll have a tomboy). This actually won't be their first daughter since they have Kaitlin, but since I've known her she's been too big to wear all those cute little pink onesies! Of course now I won't be the one to give my parents their first granddaughter...but such is life. On the plus side assuming she is an early walker she could just be a flower girl! Anyway for those who aren't squeamish or for those who enjoy aliens feel free to enjoy the pics...

So baby in womb technology has come a long way considering that all my mom got was a cassette tape with our heartbeats and all my nanny got was baby kicks! The 3D pics are just so awesome and compared to traditional ones before so much clearer. It's cool that they can do them so much earlier now. I believe the one of Dominic like this was done around 8 mos.

Watching a human life develop is a little creepy...
that little skeltor arm just freaks me out,
but yay for five fingers!

Cute little profile in 2D...boring...

And lastly, here she is confirming for herself that she is a girl...

Nella Vita di Models: UPDATE

OK, first many of you want to know how all this came about. Some of you may recall that two years ago I actually did model for Rosetta Stone. They are based out of Harrisonburg and were doing shoots around Central VA, including Staunton and Cville. I saw an ad on Craigslist, knew Rosetta Stone was a legit thing, contacted them, and ended up doing about 5 shoots with them. Extremely fun, decent money, great stories, what more could I want. I'm actually thinking of getting a Rosetta Stone for xmas and will just die when I see myself (ie. Missy on a bike = bicicleta), though I'm not sure where exactly my pictures are in the software. Anyway, the have kept my info in their database, the photo. producer saw my pic and thought I was perfect for their upcoming story theme.

So the great news is that I was able to rework my schedule a bit and am now able to do it!! This one sounds really awesome. Usually the stories involve everyday people in everyday situations, but this time they are doing a more creative story line featuring ancient Rome. So I get to be a Roman, dressed up in a Stola and everything! The shoot will take place in and around the Rotunda at UVA since its the closest thing to ancient Rome in America pretty much. I am super excited and will let you all know how it goes. It's next Wednesday morning. Along those lines if you are anyone you know looks Roman (ie pale and burnett) let me know! They are still casting!

Nella Vita di Models

Don't you just hate when a photography/model producer calls to let you know that he wants you for a model shoot and you get all excited but then realize you can't go because your 'real job' has you going to norfolk for a housing conference? Oh what's that, that's never happened to you? Well let me tell you it sucks! Stupid Rosetta Stone, why do you have to do the shoot on Wednesday? Oh how I lament! Stupid Norfolk! At least I can be upbeat enough to realize that I should be very flattered to have been hand chosen once again to be the image of language learning everywhere, but really that just makes it suck more!

Nella Vita di Forgotten Corridors

While killing time before a late night work meeting, I stumbled across this article on the NY Times:

http://http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/nyregion/03erie.html?em

After reading the article I realized that I too was one of the many who thought that the Erie Canal had long since dried up. How happy I was to realize that America's former major artery was not only preserved but still functioning as intended! I can't help but hope that more commercial shipments continue to be made as well as other uses such as tour boats and recreation (kayak across New York anyone?)

Perhaps the greatest part of the article is a quote from John Callaghan, first mate on the Margot, "Sure it’s history, but it’s still relevant." Oh how it makes my heart sing. I think it sums up the work of preservationists, planners, developers, artists, historians, and creative thinkers everywhere. At the end of the day, there is nothing better in my mind than taking something old or historic and allowing it to remain relevant, useful, and needed (perhaps a good policy for my generation to consider with all the soon to be geriatric baby boomers).

Nella Vita di Farm Boys

So one weekend some of Shane's cousins from the north (some would call them yankees, I prefer to think of them as a breath of civility) came down for a quick visit. For a brief few hours that weekend, Shane was miraculously off from work. Seeing how he works so much, I always hate asking him to do things around the house when he is home. Sadly though there are just some things that I either don't have the muscle or the slightest idea how to do. Other times, I just won't waste my own precious free time dealing with someone else's messes. Two office desks encapsulate both issues. Purchased for about $2 each at an auction, each desk could have sold for well over $30 or even $50. When buying the desks Shane (and admittedly myself by allowing the purchase) forget one crucial fact...we don't have time to be second hand furniture sellers! Through one misstep after another, including totaling the car that would be able to haul the desks to potential buyers since we live to far in the country to insist on pick up (yet another benefit to city living!)the desks remained where the were the night they came home...sitting on our front lawn.

Oh how it upset me to come home from work and see them there...I'm not a trashy person and to have my home suggest that I am was quite intolerable. Soon it became clear that we would not be able to sell the desks (not to mention they got water damaged even if we wanted to). So I started debating about the best way to dispose of them. I didn't like the idea of taking them to the dump and just sitting there taking up space, but I was concerned about what toxins may possibly be released if I burned them. In the end I decided fire was the best way to go because it would free up space in the landfill and if it ended releasing pollutants into the air and thus the water, well it would have eventually happened as they decomposed in the dump. If anyone has some better ideas, while too late for these desks, I'd love to know what the best thing for the environment would be.

So the decision was made to burn baby burn. The next question was how. The desks were extremely heavy and next to the house. In order to be safe, there would have to be burned in the backyard. We decided the best way to do so was to use Shane's father's tractor to move them. Even still it would be a tedious and time consuming task that I hated to make Shane do during his precious free time.

But then the answer came in the form of his visiting family, or more particularly his twelve year old cousin. Very few little boys would not relish the opportunity to destroy things, especially when heavy machinery and fire are involved. And Shane was happy to have some time to spend with his family doing a 'quality' bonding activity. So at the end of the day, the farm boys prevailed, the desks were gone, my yard looked good, and Shane got to enjoy his time away from work while helping me too!



Dylan carrying the desk to the burn site.



Getting them in place.



Goodbye and good riddance!!

Nella Vita di Craziness

As you can all tell from the complete lack of blogging over the last, well, month, October had been a complete whirlwind! Between visiting family and family visiting, and one late night meeting after another, the next thing I know November is here. So hopefully over the next few days I can get caught back up and relay some of the fun adventures of the fall.