Todd's Woodworking

After building a bench, a stool and a letter "A", Todd proudly displays his handiwork on Oma and Opa's porch. Handy little helper!

Turtle Jewelry

My turtle mood ring and turtle bracelet. Favorite animals on jewelry? Yes, please! :-D

Bar Snacks and Drinks

Walked to the B'ak D'or (a little dive bar behind Sizzler) from home, where we were served bar snacks while we sat at a booth and relaxed with our drinks.

Mini Marshmallows

Yes, I eat a handful of these for a snack on occasion. Don't judge me :-P

Angry Todd

I have no idea why he's making such a face in this picture, but it sure is hilarious! Impatience, maybe? "Stop taking photos already, let's go!"

Mo Sketch

Old whiteboard drawing of Mo, my favorite Wall-E character. As you can tell, I needed a break while outlining some work-related problems on my board, and drew a quick Mo from an image I had on my computer.

Grammostola Rosea

This gorgeous, fuzzy beauty actually moved from the window towards the middle of the enclosure so I could get a better shot. I swear she was posing for the camera. Lovely creature, aka Chilean Rose or rose hair tarantula!

Seaweed Snack

From Trader Joe's. It's divine! Perfect amount of crispness and light saltiness. I always thought the seaweed was the best part of sushi-- now I can enjoy it in its pure, delicious goodness :-9

Couch Bricks

Trailer park living, part 3: sets of bricks support the middle of our sagging couch. Great stopgap measure to tide us over until our new couch arrives!

Itchy Dog

This golden retriever, who belongs to the Breaktime bar, kept rubbing his butt against the corner of my heel, using it as a scratching post. Ahhhh... relief, says doggie! :-)

Fire Truck

No smoke, no fire, no sirens? Turns out it was checking/servicing a fire hydrant across the way. They were there for a good long while!

Lego Sydney Opera House

This is one of my favorite sights in the Miniland part of Legoland (where world-wide historical sights are recreated entirely out of Legos). A bird alighted, providing a handy scale reference!

Legoland

Tons of rides and colorful plastic fun!

Less than 100 posts!

With yesterday's post, I've officially crossed over into double-digits: only 99 more entries (well, 98 after this one) until Project 365 is complete! Thought I'd commemorate the milestone with a photo of the blog itself-- a little meta, if you will ;-)

Big People, Little People

Allan stoops down to hold Charlotte's hand at Goleta Beach. Been a long time since he's had to hunch down that low to hold such a little person's hand!

Girls' Night Out

Impromptu trip to OTT for some karaoke and a good old-fashioned girls' night out!

Monkey Sings

After our karaoke party at our house last night, we discovered that little Charlotte had left her stuffed animals behind-- here are Monkey and Beanie Baby Bear, getting ready to sing!

Fridge Fan

Trailer park living, part 2: The fan motor in our fridge broke, so while we wait for the new part to arrive, this ordinary fan on the floor helps keep the condenser cool.

Postcards from around the world

A month ago, we had a happy hour to celebrate how global the company was growing. Part of the activities involved writing postcards to our various global offices. Here are some of the ones our worldwide colleagues sent to us in the SB office.

You Park Like A...

Spied this gem of a parking job at Trader Joe's tonight. Reminded me of the YouParkLikeAnAsshole.com website-- too funny! Yet very frustrating to encounter in real life, especially when parking is scarce.

More Rubber Duckies

Quack! A variety of themed rubber duckies enjoy the warm sunshine on a bandanna picnic blanket on the grass.

Giant Quad Chair

Spied this gigantic quad chair at Big 5. Allan sits in it to model exactly how big this thing is! It engulfs him and makes him look like a little boy! Well, aside from the gray hair and all... ;-)

Garden: After

Now that the gardeners have come through, pulled tons of weeds, and trimmed the plants, the yard looks much cleaner! I can actually walk through it to water all the individual plants!

Garden: Before

Here's a shot of some of the foliage outside our house, neglected for over a year, overgrown, filled with weeds, and long overdue for some TLC from a gardener:

Cotton Candy

... dessert of champions! This fluffy, sugary confection is just what I needed to sweeten up the afternoon at work a bit :-9

Naked Computer

Out of its case, a Mac mini adorns a spot by our TV, which it's plugged into. So immodest! ;-P

Lemonade

Free ice cold lemonade at the concert, courtesy of Noozhawk. Really hit the spot on such a warm, sunny summer day! :-9

4th of July Flag

A huge flag is lowered at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens while an ensemble of patriots dressed in different period costumes-- Davy Crockett, Civil War soldier, Revolutionary War soldier-- pay tribute below it.

Karaoke Mixer

Set up my new little mixer that will allow me to connect microphones, a computer, and our stereo system for home karaoke. Output the computer to our big screen TV, and the setup for a home karaoke party is complete! Who's in? :-)

High-Tech Picnic

Allan's idea of lounging on the grass for a picnic includes watching Netflix on his phone, complete with earbuds!

Bazooka Gum

This bubble gum brings back memories, doesn't it! They've apparently expanded to different flavors. But they all still come with the little comic strip!