And the winner is????

So recently we (my wife and I) had an online contest where you could vote for when our child will be born, the sex (since we didn't know), the length, and the weight. Well since Gummy Bear is here we have proclaimed a winner, our friend Jen. And in honor or her winning the contest, she gets one of the coolest things I found on the web, a GIANT GUMMY BEAR. The picture above is real. The 5 pound gummy bear is about half the size of our child. I love it. I wanted so bad to keep a portion of it for myself (it smelled soooo good) but I refrained and it has been sent along to the winner. Enjoy :-)

The 306 Greatest Books #90 - The Twits

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Twits by Roald Dahl. This book can be found on the BBC Book list.

The Twits was a rather interesting book, as I've come expect from Dahl. The story follows a married couple who are the most despicable, ugly people you could ever imagine. The things that they do eventually get them into trouble, where they eventually get their just desserts in the end from the trouble they cause. Although Dahl can be a bit gruesome at times, he does go out of his way to never fully describe the gruesome act, just imply it. So, I think this could be a nice book for children to read since it starts off with a very good lesson; that if you continually have ugly thoughts you turn into an ugly person but if you continually have good thoughts you turn into a good looking person, no matter what your outward appearance may be. Overall, not a fantastic book, but it is fun and short, and it is the first book on the list that I read to my daughter.

The 306 Greatest Books #89 - The Maltese Falcon

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. This book can be found on the Sybervision and My Book Lists.

I know that the movie was based off of the book but it had been so long ago since I saw the movie that I don't remember any of the plot points. This was good because it didn't end up ruining any of the book for me. The movie, and a lot of similar rip-off movies, have the same motif, they contain this old detective feel; a black and white movie with the main detective doing a voice-over for much of the movie. That was exactly how this book read. It was like Humphrey Bogart was reading the book aloud to me in my head. I really enjoyed it though. It was different from most of the other books I have read and it was a constant page turner where you must know what was going to happen next. The story was not too complicated, your basic murder mystery plot, a who done it and why sort of ordeal. Overall, it was a quick and easy read and I feel that everyone should read this if they are in the mood for an good old time detective story.

Personal Goals Update - May

4 months in, really late. But I have good reason this time :-).

1. Finish first draft of my novel -
January 1st - 1st third done
February 1st - Nothing new
March 1st - Nothing
April 1st - Nothing
May 1st - Nothing

2. Drop weight to 167
January 1st - 175.0
February 1st - 176.0
March 1st - 176.0
April 1st - 176.6
May 1st - 176.6

3. Balance our budget
January 1st - Things are looking up for this year
February 1st - Working over the winter break helped, a $1700 car repair bill did not
March 1st - Going the wrong way, another car bill as well as a new carpet and apparently I owe on my taxes, great.
April 1st - Working out those extra expenses a little bit at a time
May 1st - Still working it out

a. Pay credit card
January 1st - Only one card left
February 1st - Still one card left
March 1st - Still on to go
April 1st - Still working on the one
May 1st - One

4. Read a total of 100 of the greatest books on my lists
January 1st - Current count 86
February 1st - In the middle of Cantebury Tales
March 1st - Took a break from Cantebury Tales, time to get back
April 1st - Finished Cantebury Tales. 13 left to go. Reading Madame Bovary now
May 1st - Finished Madame Bovary. 12 left to go. Reading The Maltese Falcon now

5. Finish 2 more movies on my Geological Movie Review
January 1st - Look to start 2 new movies
February 1st - Nothing done on this
March 1st - Nothing done
April 1st - Nothing done
May 1st - Nothing

a. Also update the last two I did
January 1st - One out of 3 up to par
February 1st - Nothing done on this
March 1st - Nothing done
April 1st - Nothing done
May 1st - Nothing

Other items of interest:
School is done for the semester. Got a 4.0 :-). Also had myself a kid and she is precious. A pain in the butt and a diva but still precious. I am also teaching my first real class this summer semester. Not a TA but an actual instructor this time. All in all, things are busy but mostly good.

Introducing the Gummy Bear

Introducing......

Born April 30th, 2010

Weighing in at a whopping 9lbs 6oz and 21.25 inches in length

She is definitely the pride and joy of her parents. The last few weeks have been rather stressful for us since there are some health issues (and will be in the future) but as of today she is doing wonderfully. And now some pictures.


Daddy is exhausted shortly after Gummy Bear comes into the world.


Just after her first bath, she loves a good head rub, just like her mommy.

Daddy holding his little Gummy Bear.

And this awesome picture was taken by her grandfather. Just perfect :-).

Dresses up in her going home DINO outfit :-D. Veronica insisted so I just couldn't say no. I mean we searched everywhere for a hat for her as well (even though it turns out she's got a big head and most hats don't fit her very well).

And Finally a copy of the birth announcement that was sent out.