Kali 1.8 practices for Halloween.......

Kali 1.8 is all ready to go for Halloween. She's been practicing with Mrs. Lime. Last night at dinner, she demonstrated her ability to say "Trick or Treat!" multiple times. I'm sure she'll come home with a huge stash of candy and then we'll have to find other people willing to eat most of it. She'll get to enjoy a couple of pieces of candy, but any more candy than that would likely send her bouncing off the walls.

Halloween also means another birthday for Mrs. Lime 29.0 (Yes, she's 29 again so don't bother asking). Between her mommy time with Kali and the upcoming puppy arrival, I'm not sure she could be having more fun than she is right now. Of course, she has to deal with me, but she seems to manage well enough. She's by far the best wife I've ever had and I don't see anyone knocking her off that pedestal in the next 40-50 years. I'm sure we'll raise a glass of eyeball punch in a toast tonight for her birthday. It only seems appropriate.

Where'd the glow go?

Last night, Kali 1.8 learned a new word thanks to her daddy's misfortune. That word is 'broken'. I turned on my laptop computer last night to find that the backlight on the monitor had gone out. So while the monitor is displaying properly, there's no 'glow' behind the screen to allow you to see what you're doing. In addition, the cost to replace the monitor is roughly as much as a new computer.

(insert visual of Kali raising hands to her sides with palms up while saying 'Broken!')

Thankfully, I could use a flashlight to light up the screen enough to where I could save off all the pictures, videos, documents, etc. that I had not already backed up. After I did that, Kali and I were off to drop our hard-earned cash on a computer I'd rather not buy right now.

Kali, per the usual, enjoyed her trip to the electronics retail store. They always have big, colorful pictures and lots of fun noises that peak the interest of a 20 month old child. She went from shelf to shelf, looking at stuff. She knows she'll be in trouble if stuff gets taken off the shelf, so instead of pulling things off the shelf, she just tries to touch every single item she can.

Meanwhile, I tried to find the best bargain priced laptop that would suit my needs. After 10-15 minutes of looking and a $600 price tag, I was headed home with a replacement. I'll likely spend a couple of days just configuring the PC and getting rid of a lot of the pre-installed junk that I don't need. Hopefully, I'll be able to get my PC experience back to normal once that's complete. Hopefully this one doesn't doesn't break down anytime soon.

More pictures of the new arrival..........

Here are some updated pictures of our new horse we just purchased. Right now, she's only a 3 1/2 week old horse, so she's got some growing to do. Here's a good look at her white coat with a few brown spots.........



She's checking you out............

Another one is added to the fold...........

We traveled about 60 miles south of Kansas City yesterday. We visited a farm in that area. As a result, we've added the following to our family.........



She's only 3 weeks old, but she'll grow to be roughly 150 pounds. The owner informed us that her grandfather was 220 pounds, while her dad is around 160 pounds. The breeder gave them names to keep track of all 10 puppies in the litter. We haven't decided yet if we'll keep the name 'Snowflake' or not. We can pick her up as early as November 23rd, so we've got a month to prepare ourselves for the new arrival.

Kali 1.8 loved seeing all the puppies, but she was even more excited to play with the mommy of the babies. The mom came right up to Kali and let Kali pet her. She also gave her a couple of licks, which Kali thought was awfully funny. I'm sure that Kali and the new puppy will have a lot of fun playing together.

Training session bullet points........

Some random thoughts from a training meeting that I attended last week at work.....

-Note to those that fall asleep in the darkness of a meeting using a projector: Don't fall asleep if you're apt to snore while sleeping. I don't think I need to tell you why.

-There was a strange guttural sound that kept happening every 5 seconds or so. It was bugging me to the point of distraction. I finally figured out that one of my co-workers has some sort of involuntary reflex which causes him to make a small sound with his throat every 5 seconds. Learn something new every day.

-If you're the trainer, never start the class by saying 'This material can get pretty boring to read out loud, so I'd appreciate questions during the class to initiate discussion and keep things interesting'. Any trainer who thinks that the lack of questions is the reason his class gets boring likely should be told to look in a mirror. It's not the students that are the problem.

-I went through at least 5 cans of pop during that meeting. It was the only way I could stay awake through that hill of information being read to me.

-My first verbal response to a question posed by the instructor was 'Ford Mustang'. Note that the question was not 'What car do you drive?'.

-When an off-site training class adjourns early, that evidently means to most people that their work day is complete, even if they haven't worked nearly enough hours. I didn't get the memo. I got back to the office to do a couple of things and found that no one else in the class came back to work. I've got to pay more attention.

-Fact: Failure to properly control air-flow and room temperature in a meeting can result in increased rates of sleeping amongst meeting participants. Know how to use the thermostat.

-When you adjourn a class after 6 hours of instruction and you ask 'Are there any questions about the material covered today?', the lack of any questions is probably not a sign that you did a great job of instruction. It's more likely that everyone is so bored out of their mind that they're looking for the quickest way out of the meeting room.

Translation needed..........

Last night, Kali 1.8 was having a snack and some water in her high chair. I was watching TV on the coach when Kali suddenly spoke up.

Kali: A PILL!!!

Me: What? Tell Daddy again.

Kali: A PILL!!!

Me: Uphill?

Kali: (pointing at her PJ's, which were obviously wet) A PILL!!!

Me: (laughing) OH! Did you SPILL your water?

Kali: (smiling and nodding affirmatively) A PILL!!!

It takes me awhile, but eventually I'm able to figure out what she's saying.

Economic boom?

Amongst all of the bad news in recent months economically, it appears that our neck of the woods may have just hit the property jackpot. We just found out that the Mormon Church is going to build one of their Temples about a mile or two from our home. I've done some research on the internet involving other towns where a Mormon temple was build. The average property value in the immediate surrounding area has risen at rates of 50-75% within a few years of the temple's completion. The dramatic increase has to do with the influx of Mormons who want to live near these temples In addition, the retail industry in those same areas have seen 25-50% growth of profits.

The temple won't be completed for at least four years, so we've got a while to wait. Thankfully, we're at least paying for our mortgage knowing that it'll be relatively valuable down the road.

Hollywood bound.........

Kali 1.8 was wearing a light blue dress last night. You'll find out why this is relevant later. Mrs. Lime had to go to a meeting, so I decided to run with Kali to the local Target store and pick up a few things. I let Kali know that we were going to go. That prompted an excited 'running around like a chicken with your head cut off' response along with her screaming 'Go! Go!'.

I told her that she needed to put on her shoes. She screamed 'Shoes!' and ran off in search of shoes. Kali had a choice of two shoes......

A) A pair of white sandals that would go nicely with her dress
B) A pair of pink crocks that really didn't match her outfit at all

Of course, she selected the pink crocks. After that, I reminded her that she needed her purse. She screamed 'Purse!' and ran off to get a purse. Of course, she came back with a pink fuzzy purse likely because they matched her pink crocs so well. I also told her she needed a barrette for her hair. She screamed 'Barrette!' and went to get a barrette. Kali had a choice of two hair barrettes.......

A) A blue bow that matched her blue dress
B) A multi-colored bow that didn't match anything she had selected up until this point

Par for the course, she selected the multi-colored bow with the intention likely that there were so many colors in the bow, that it HAD to match something that she was wearing. Finally, with her wardrobe complete, we were off to the store.

The ride was uneventful as she didn't chatter much during the drive. I parked the car and went around to get Kali out of her car seat. I was shocked to find that she had added one more accessory to her look. She had pulled a pair of black and white sunglasses out of her purse and was wearing them. When your daughter puts on her sunglasses and is generally behaving herself, you have little choice but to go with the flow (ignoring the fact that the sun had already gone down). So, I took Kali out of the car and she walked through the parking lot IN THE DARKNESS in her sunglasses.

It was all I could muster to keep from laughing while I told Kali how great she looked in her outfit. Once we got into the store, everyone we passed was getting a big kick out of Kali's look. She spend 15 minutes in the store showboating her look. She was so ridiculously proud of her purse, sunglasses, bow, etc. Who was I to tell her that none of it matched and that it didn't go together at all? She was in her element and she might as well have been a movie star walking down the red carpet. It was fabulous.

It's here!!!!!

The best day of the year (outside of the national holiday otherwise known as my birthday) has arrived! Today is the official opening of college basketball practice sessions! While I write this post, there are literally thousands of college basketball players who will have their first day of two-a-day practices with many more to come.

In just two weeks, exhibition games will commence.

In a month, the preseason tournaments will begin.

I'm giddy with anticipation!

M-I-Z.......Z-O-U!!!!!

The disappearing family trick..........

Mrs. Lime and Kali 1.8 are in Baltimore this week. Mrs. Lime had some continuing education classes. As a result, I'm on my own for the weekend. It's somewhat strange to be alone in the house when you're used to the organized chaos that a mini-me brings to your surroundings. I managed to get several things done around the house, which was nice. But there was also a few times when I thought, "OK, now what do I do?".

I used my time last night to watch a couple of movies. I watched Borat, which is warped, yet very funny. I also watched 'Monster', which is a movie about a female serial killer who was executed for her crimes in 2002. If you haven't seen the movie before, I highly suggest watching it. It's extremely well done. I'm not sure I've ever felt sympathy and anger on that level about a person. It's a pretty intense story.

I'm getting off work a bit early today and heading over to play golf with some of my neighbors, so that should take care of my afternoon. After that, who knows. Probably take time to pick up our house a bit. Without Kali around, the cleaning might last more than a few hours.

Section 60........

I watched a documentary on HBO last night about Section 60 in Arlington National Cemetary. That is the section that is currently designated for Iraq/Afghanistan war dead. Some things that struck me about it........

-At one point, they had completed a memorial service and the workers were coming in with a backhoe to fill the grave. They dug a hole right next to the grave being covered, which it quickly became apparent was to be the next grave for the next service. They accomplished two tasks in one, though it was a stark reminder at the quick rate of burials on that day.

-Several times, a family member would lay down on the grave while touching the stone and take a nap. Others would bring lawn chairs and take a nap in the chair. It was somewhat odd, though I certainly understand the reasons they'd do that.

-The graveyard became a form of family when there were a lot of people in the area. Family members would walk over to other mourners in the area and ask them about their loved one. It appeared to be a form of therapy for both sides, whether they were listening or talking.

-The varied backgrounds of the war dead served as a testament to the great nature of our society. Every form of religion was accounted for in the graveyard. If only our enemies were as accepting of others, we'd likely not be in this prediciment.

-At one point, two widows in their 20s who had been chatting had noticed an older lady who was crying over a gravestone. After the lady left, the two of them went over to look at the stone. The grave was from a WWII soldier who had died in 1987. The two women quickly realized that the pain of their loss during this war would not go away anytime soon.

-Several of the families made comments about how difficult it was to have a family member who gave their life in combat only to hear some people in America portray their loss as being in vain because they disagreed with the Iraq/Afghanistan war. I don't think some people realize just how hurtful their comments can be to those who bear this burden.

-A class of high school students brought some things to the graveyard to place on the graves. Each student had researched the acts of one soldier buried in the area. One girl came up to the grave of the soldier who she had researched only to find his mother at the grave. The girl gave the mother the memorial piece. The mother thanked her and told the girl about her son. The mother eventually began to cry and commented that this was a lot for the student to handle. The student responded 'No, it's fine'. The mother smiled and was obviously impressed by the support of the student.

-Christmas is quite a sight at Arlington for those who haven't seen it before. Wreathes are laid at every gravestone. In Section 60, one mother and her two daughters decided to add a bit more to the season. The two young girls (probably around 8 years old) grabbed a bunch of candy cane ornaments. The girls went to every grave and placed a candy cane on the wreath. They would say 'Merry Christmas!' at every single grave while placing the candy cane.

It's a great documentary and those who have HBO should watch it if you get a chance.

Halloween arrives in the foyer.........

We put out some of the Halloween decorations around the house yesterday. We have an animated butler that we call 'Lurch' who stands near the back door for most of the year. Kali 1.8 always waves to him and says 'Hi' when she passes by him. She seems relatively unfazed by his scary appearance. However, that all changed yesterday.

While Mrs. Lime and Kali were at the library for reading time, I took the free time to get out a lot of the Halloween decorations. That included moving Lurch to the entry foyer and plugging him in. Also, I put up an animated witch who screams and cackles. Kali came back and saw the figures in the doorway. She was OK with them......until the motion sensor set them off.

Suddenly, Lurch was breathing and talking with moving eyes. The witch began to cackle and scary music played. Kali got scared and put a choke hold on my neck. She also clawed at my neck with her fingernails and started shaking. She was REALLY scared. We went back to the living room to watch them from a distance. She kept pointing at them and saying 'Uh-oh' and 'witch'.

Eventually, we worked out a nervous compromise. Mrs. Lime and I went in and touched, kissed, and hugged the witch and Lurch so Kali would know they were OK. While she didn't totally buy into it yesterday, she was blowing kisses to all of them on the way to bed. She's OK with them at a distance. I'm sure she'll get better as the days go on. For now, we've turned them off so they don't get too scary.

When did that happen?

So I think the office feels a bit sheepish this morning. I'll explain.

Yesterday, one of the ladies in my office sent out an e-mail to the entire group saying that they were planning a baby shower for one of the ladies in our office who is 7 months pregnant. There was only one problem.......no one even knew she was pregnant before that.

It's a bit of a touchy situation. The lady is overweight. I actually suspected that she was pregnant a couple of months ago, but was I going to be the idiot to go up and congratulate her on a pregnancy that may or may not exist? Hell no!

Her cube is right next to mine. Yesterday, people were coming over all day to congratulate her on the pregnancy. At some level, she had to realize that most of the people didn't know she was pregnant and weren't willing to take the risk before now to ask her if she was pregnant for fear they might offend her if she was just putting on a few pounds.

Back to your regularly scheduled office gossip...........

Am I forgetting something?

Mrs. Lime was working last night, so I was in charge of Kali 1.7. I had to attend a meeting for the fraternity alumni board. So I filled up my sparkly purple diaper bag with snacks, diapers, and toys. I told Kali to put her shoes on, to which she screamed, "SHOES!".

I then told her to put on her jacket. "JACKET!!!!"

After Kali had on all her gear, I reached down and grabbed the bag and Kali and I headed for the garage exit. When we were halfway to the exit, Kali, out of nowhere, yelled out, "KEYS!!!".

I laughed. "Yes, Daddy needs keys for the car."

I then had a moment of realization. I hadn't picked up the keys. They were still on the table right next to where we got Kali's jacket. She realized that and was now hinting in a very 19-month old transparant way that I had forgot them on the table.

This just in........I'm old and my daughter is far too smart.

Another one?

Uh, yeah. I'm a year older today. This makes 34 years of relatively uneventful living for me.

Kali 1.7 is now closing in on her 2nd birthday. In a few years, she'll be in school. PTA, here I come.

I remember when I was in high school and I thought that the year 2010 seemed like it was ridiculously far away. It's now only 15 months away.

I remember 1994 when Mizzou's basketball team was undefeated Big 8 champions and nearly made the Final Four. It's been a long 14 years since that last championship. On the bright side, the football team is in a position to compete for the national championship.

I remember when the Royals won the World Series in 1985. How could I know then that we'd spend the next 23 years failing to make the post-season.

I remember when the Chiefs won their last playoff game in 1993 when Joe Montana was at the helm. 15 years later, and we're not even close to a position to win a playoff game.

In summary, my child is growing like a weed, I'm getting old, and most of my sports teams I root for are terrible. Here's to hoping the next year ends some of those trends.

A puzzling demonstration...........

When you're 19 months old, a puzzle for kids ages 3 and up can be extremely challenging. But Kali 1.7 threatens to break the mold for 19 month old kids!

She has incredible determination.......

From Month 19

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The ability to smile when the going gets tough.......

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The understanding to give the letter 'M' its proper recognition........

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And make sure that the letter 'M' finds its proper place in the grand scheme of things......

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Folks, this is no ordinary mortal we speak of in this instance..........

From Month 19

She has the will to succeed........

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The letter 'B' is no match for her calculating mind........

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It's no wonder that the letter 'T' quivers in her presense.......

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With a nimble mind and looks like these..........

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It's clear that this is no ordinary woman. This is KALI THE PUZZLE MASTER!!!!!!!!

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Kali 1.7 picture blowout!!!!!

Evidently, sitting on a piano playing with an empty bottle is quite a bit of fun........

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Snack time in Daddy's old chair.........

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Here's how a big girl eats her pudding......

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I think someone is trying to avoid the paparazzi by wearing a baseball cap.......

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I really like this picture........

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Playtime with cousin Gwen............

Gwen 1.4 and Kali 1.7 climb up the slide........

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Down the slide comes Kali!

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Gwen, you're sliding down backwards!

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Breaking News! Two children trapped in a school bus! Reportedly, at least one of them is not happy about the situation!

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Aunt Meghan is on the scene to assist the trapped victims!

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