Why am I still watching this?

My brother found an odd yet mesmerizing TV show called "Yo Gabba Gabba"; Maya loves it. I can't stop watching it, even when Maya's not around. See for yourself.

Yellow Springs, Ohio

In our quest to find the "ideal" place to live, I think I may have found it. Jeff mentioned in passing that there was an area that was about the same distance as we currently are from the AFB. He said it was called Yellow Springs. A light went off in my head because I religiously listen to WYSO, which is our local NPR station. This is not just any run of the mill NPR station, it is the coolest one I have yet to encounter. I could go on and on about it, but you can check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Not only does Yellow Spring host the best NPR station ever, but it has wonderful qualities such as:
-It is home of Antioch University
-It is very diverse and rich in culture even though it has less than 4,000 residents
-It was the last stop on the Underground Railroad
-It promotes small business and does not have a Wal-Mart!
-Dave Chappelle lives there.
-It reminds me of Vermont in so many ways (I went to college in Vermont)
-It is safe.
-It would be a wonderful place for our children to be raised.
-They have contra dancing.
-Is host to the Glen Helen Ecology Institute
-There are endless nature trails and places to camp.
-As my husband so wonderfully put it, "It is a small town because it decided to be one, not because it is one."

I will keep you posted on my new found Ohio Mecca. Will Yellow Springs be my next stop?

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?

Recipe for Instant Weight Loss

1. Snuggle, bounce, and play with sweet (but sick) baby.


2. Allow baby to vomit on you and your clothes.


3. Let virus marinade for 2 days.



4. Simmer at 101 degrees Farenheit.

5. Have abrupt onset of gastroenteritis.

6. Check scale.

Raccoon Hair?

I went to the wonderful land of Sephora last night with friends Jennifer and Josephine. I went only intending to spend $20 but some how managed to "need" $40 worth of products. How many products for eyebrows can be in one store? Anyhoo, we were glancing over the beautiful array of brushes. One such brush was made of raccoon hair. Say huh? Yes, hair from a raccoon. I found this to be a bit of a step down from mink or even goat hair. I also thought I would research how they got the raccoon to cooperate with being shaved or plucked or whatever they do. Is it now "PC" or something to use a raccoon? Does PETA approve? Will the next step be squirrels? What do you think about this?

March Madness

The month of March is almost over and I have barely had time to enjoy a thing about it. Things are starting to settle down a bit, so before this wonderful month ends, I would like to focus on myself a little more. You may be thinking, "Hey, Melody, please talk about yourself. You just don't do that enough and I must hear more!" (Yes, blogs are a bit egocentric, aren't they?)

First, I must explain this lovely photo. Jeff works for the Air Force and this "Moustache March" Jeff is pretty proud of this crazy fu man chu meets biker guy look he has going on. He is outdoing all the young guys around work because their mustaches aren't half as thick as this sucker. It's pretty impressive isn't it?

We had a lovely blizzard here in Ohio...on my birthday. I wanted to celebrate my birthday on the actual day, so we called up a local restaurant and they were open. We bundled up and headed out against the elements and enjoyed a fine meal at Bob Evans. We had a blast. Jeff was sweet and got the lovely practical gift that I had requested because comfort comes before anything else after you turn 30.

Reili started "crawling" (a.k.a. getting where she needs to go in whatever mode suits her). -See previous post. It seems this little girl is so full of energy! She gets super restless whenever we try strapping her down in one of the various seats we have for her. It is amazing how many baby items you can buy and how quickly they clutter one's living room.

I was able to make an overnight trip to Mobile, Alabama for work. I spent my last two years of high school in Mobile at a magnet school (we liked to refer to it as nerd school). It was fun being back there and I also got to sneak in some time with my friend, Laura.
She drove over from Pensacola, FL. We had such a fun time! I flew in to Mobile airport in the morning, worked from 2-6pm and then met up with Laura for dinner and a fun spend the night party. Yes, kids, spend the night parties never end. Isn't that cool? We had so much fun. It was good seeing her again.

And finally... my brother is going to move up to Ohio! We are so excited for this to happen. There wasn't much keeping him in Alabama (we never planned to live there very long when we got there 25 years ago). We are making a short jaunt down there at the end of the month to help move him up here. Maya LOVES her Uncle Shi. His name is not Shi, but that's what we nicknamed him. His middle name is Shigeru (pronounced 'shee-geh-rlu') and we shortened it and changed the pronunciation and some how came up with "Shi" (prounounced 'shy').

Whew! A crazy post for a crazy month.

Some Babies Crawl...

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

Here is a fun story. I can't even begin to tell you how busy I was this week. My company did some work with health screenings at some factories in the Columbus area. Like most factories, there are three shifts. To catch all three shifts, we had to work from 4:30am-4:30pm. I traveled all over the state and barely had time to catch my breath.

One day I had to travel to the Cincinnati area. Since the work would begin so early in the morning and I worked late the day before, I thought it would be best to spend the night. I forgot to pack my socks. I only have so many pair of socks in my house and half of them must have been eaten by my dryer. So, I had to wear my socks two LONG days in a row. Yes, I know, that is too much information... but it gets better.

So, I am a little self conscious of the fact that I'm wearing dirty socks. I sit down to take blood pressures and I get a whiff of something. I asked my friend if she had some body spray and she did. I went to the bathroom, sprayed the shoe/sock area of my body, then returned to work.

I sat back down only to smell the perfume along with a bad odor. We started to get busy. I was sitting next to a co-worker and decided that if I put my feet under the table and far away from him, no one would be the wiser.

After a few hours of dealing with my stinky feet, I realize that this is out of control. I mean, I have some old socks on but please! I thought, that is a horrible smell. I turned over my shoe only to find dog doodie on the bottom. Whew! Only dog crap, good. It wasn't me.

I proceeded to excuse myself and go to the ladies room where I thoroughly cleaned my shoe. I came back to my station and voila, the smell was gone.