Book-tacular

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It’s my turn to chime in on the uber-popular “book meme”. I found this to be tremendously difficult. I’ve read so many books and so many of them were memorable and there’s so many that I’d want on a deserted island.

1. One book that changed your life: Husband Coached Childbirth: The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth Maybe not so much “changed” but “reinforced” my outlook on childbirth; and helped me achieve it.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Lately? Hippos Go Berserk

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: The Swiss Family Robinson

4. One book that made you laugh: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

5. One book that made you cry:Les Miserables

6. One book that you wish had been written: “How To Eat All the Ice Cream You Want and Never Gain a Pound; 2nd Edition; edited to include Tater Tots”

7. One book that you wish had never been written: There are books I wish I had never read… but everyone gleans value from different material. I’m sure that books I have hated fall into the
“changed my life” for other people.

8. One book you’re currently reading: Toward the End of Time

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:1776

10. Now tag five people:
Angela::
Jeremy::
Lisa::
Bethany Joy::
Jill::

Public Transit

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I got this from [Kellan](http://laughingmeme.org/articles/2006/09/05/world-metros):

Here’s a list of the various public transportation systems I’ve ridden on:














Make your own at: b3co.com!

Sadly, they don’t have a selection for the Portland, Oregon [TriMet](http://www.trimet.org/) system… but I’ve been on that one, too!

Redbox

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I’d noticed a shiny new red vending machine in [Stop and Shop](http://www.stopandshop.com/) a few months ago, and I finally stopped to check it out. The machine is managed by a company called [redbox](http://www.redbox.com/), and it is essentially a DVD rental vending machine. For $1 per night, plus tax, you can rent a DVD from their selection. Get it back before 7 p.m. the next day and that’s all you pay. After that, it’s another $1 for each additional day, and after 25 days without returning it, the DVD is yours to keep (and you just paid an outrageous amount to buy a movie).

The selection is understandably limited by the physical size of the machine. They do have some of the day’s more popular titles, and it is stocked with new releases on a weekly basis. There is no membership to sign up for – you just provide a credit card at the time of rental. The touch-screen on the machine allows you to browse the inventory of DVDs, make your selection, and pay. The DVDs themselves are vended mechanically from a slot on the side of the machine. They come encased in hard plastic. To return the DVD, simply go to any redbox kiosk and put the DVD back in the slot. Presto! You can also browse the selection of your local redbox kiosk from the website, and place your order there. Then, just go to the kiosk to pick it up.

You can get a free one-night rental if you visit the [website](http://www.redbox.com/) and provide your email address. We did so a few weeks ago, and last night I stopped by to pick up a DVD. The whole process was as simple as could be, we enjoyed our movie, and I returned it today with no hassle.

It certainly won’t replace [Netflix](http://www.netflix.com/)’s breadth of selection or nifty feature set, but it can’t be beat for simplicity and price. At some point, they’ll probably enable the kiosks to download any movie you want, and then burn it instantly to DVD… *then* Netflix will have something to worry about!

If you’re interested, find the [nearest redbox](http://www.redbox.com/Locations/KioskSearch.aspx) location and check it out!

Nope, I’m not getting paid anything for this post, I just think it’s really cool.

Book Meme

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I’ve been tagged by [Mr. Farnham](http://heartlandgemutlichkeit.blogspot.com/) to do a [book meme](http://heartlandgemutlichkeit.blogspot.com/2006/10/tag-nab-it-im-it.html). So here it is!

* One book that changed your life: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity It’s a book about getting organized and getting things done, but it’s also about reclaiming space in your mind and in your life to help you focus on the things that matter most.
* One book that you’ve read more than once: GTD again.
* One book you’d want on a desert island: Some book about survival and how to get off of an island as soon as possible. I am not going to assume that I’ll be stuck on this island forever; I want something practical!
* One book that made you laugh: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
* One book that made you cry: Can’t think of one.
* One book that you wish had been written: “What Are They Thinking?: Explanations of the Weirdos Around You”
* One book that you wish had never been written: Can’t think of one.
* One book you’re currently reading: Life Photographers: What They Saw. It has excellent interviews with photographers from the staff of Life magazine. It’s about more than just photography, though. It’s about history, culture, life, and work. It’s a joy to read.
* One book you’ve been meaning to read: The Neutronium Alchemist : Conflict (Neutronium Alchemist, No 2). The next in a series of books that I had started reading a few years ago. I haven’t been able to find this volume at our local library, unfortunately.
* Now tag five people: Alright, let’s see who’s paying attention (or at least monitoring [Technorati](http://www.technorati.com/):
* [Chuck](http://gtownskaterpunk.livejournal.com/)
* [Christine](http://www.amusings.net/clg/) (Update: posted [here](http://www.amusings.net/clg/november2006/111506.htm)!)
* [Jenny](http://raingirl3179.livejournal.com/)
* [Leanne](http://leannesthelawry.blogspot.com/)
* [Michelle](http://mikao.blogspot.com/)

V

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The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji

This epic story looked promising. I was excited to read about the racial conflicts in Africa in the 1950s and 60s; a part of history I don’t know much about. I hoped that the story would pull me into a world so completely different from my own.

Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to connect with the story. The writing style was clear and the descriptive vignettes were beautiful, but I just couldn’t get into the ‘meat’ of the story.

I was very disappointed that I only made it halfway through this book. I enjoy historically based novels and the cultural knowledge that can be gleaned from them. Also, while written in the past tense, at the end of each chapter Vassanji jumps to a paragraph or two in the present tense. I would have really loved to see how the past and present lives of Vik came together, but I couldn’t keep my head in the book.

Maybe at some point in the future I’ll give this one another shot. I guess it just wasn’t the book for me at this moment in time.

Milestones

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fff|ppp|at Taco Bell|ppp|fff

Catherine has been keeping us busy lately. It seems like we can go weeks without any major change in behavior or attitude and then, “BAM!” the changes come on full force.

We’ve really been enjoying watching her grow and learn and change over the past few months. Although I have a vague idea of which milestones she should be hitting, I haven’t memorized exactly when she should be achieving them. Her pediatrician is happy with her development and progress, so I am too. There are so many things to be worried about in life; I don’t need to add to the stress by comparing Catherine to all the other babies out there!

For the record, though, here’s an update. Catherine is a very happy, content baby. Her smiles and babbling can melt the hardest of hearts and has an adorable laugh that is only made more exciting by its unexpected appearances. She will play pretty independently with her play gym; kicking and grabbing at the toys. She will pass the rattle back and forth between her hands and will shake it like a Polaroid picture! Anything she can get her hands on will go into her mouth. She especially likes her crinkly book with the rubbery teething toys on it.

The teething rings are very popular at the moment since she has cut her first two teeth (the bottom front- in case you were wondering). She has been a wee bit fussy thanks to the new- and forthcoming- teeth, but the fussiness is nothing compared to to the drooling. I swear she leaks a gallon of drool a day onto the front of her shirt. Thank goodness for the hundreds of bibs we received when she was born!

In the last few days Catherine has strengthened her back muscles enough to keep herself sitting up if we set her up. She can’t pull herself up to sitting, but if she leans forward she can straighten back up. She’ll sit and play or look in the mirror all while sitting up. These new muscles have made it easier to experience some other new activities; playing in her exersaucer, sitting in the baby seat of the shopping carriage and riding in our baby backpack.

Sitting up and seeing more of the world has only made her want to get to more of it. She has rolled over once (with an illegal push-off during the flip!) but hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it. Soon though, she’ll be rolling all over the place. Then we’re in trouble!

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more exciting news from Wood Central!

Remastered

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Earlier this year, I started a project to go through all of the photos from our wedding and honeymoon, take out some not so good photos, do some cropping, retouching, rotating, and color editing, and then upload them to the site. I got a bit sidetracked after Catherine was born, but I finally finished up. Here, then are the results! I left the originals alone so that you can compare. If you have already seen the photos, why not go back and relive the fun? If you haven’t seen them, check them out for the first time! I had hoped to finish this up by our anniversary, but oh well! 🙂

* [Our Wedding](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2002/our_wedding/) (original)
* [Our Wedding – Digitally Remastered](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2002/our_wedding_dr/)
* [Our Honeymoon](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/travels/2002/honeymoon/) (original)
* [Our Honeymoon – Digitally Remastered](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/travels/2002/honeymoon_dr/)

Here are some examples:

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Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween from us and ours to you and yours!

ppp|Catherine|ppp

Catherine has had a pretty exciting first Halloween! We attended two costume parties, one at [Chuck and Hannah](http://www.paradrone.com/) and Penelope’s

ppp|Shrek and Jack-o-Catherine|ppp

and one at Bethany and Holly’s.

ppp|Catherine, Becky, and Bethany|ppp

ppp|Catherine and Beth's Hat|ppp

Both were pretty fun and we all had fun dressing up.

Extra Halloween note: I saw this cat outside our window today. Do you think he knew that it was Halloween? He looks nice and spooky sitting there on the fencepost!

ppp|Black Cat|ppp

EDIT: The rest of the Halloween photos are [here](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/Halloween/)

P.S. If you haven’t read our travelogue from our fall trip, be sure to [check it out](http://prwdot.org/2006/10/30/have-a-nice-trip-see-you-next-fall/)!

Have a nice trip, see you next fall!

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Well, hopefully sooner if possible. 🙂

It has become sort of a tradition (since last year, anyway) for us to take a trip out to the Midwest every fall. We do it in October because of a number of events: my birthday on the 6th, Dad’s birthday on the 15th, and our anniversary on the 26th. Also, the weather is not too hot, and tourist destinations are less crowded.

As you may have guessed from [Recent Diaper Changes](http://prwdot.org/2006/10/22/recent-diaper-changes/), we recently took this fall trip, from Friday, October 13 to Saturday, October 21. Here’s the low-down:

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