New pics of Aaron

I visited Tampa recently and snapped a couple pictures of Aaron for everyone to see.



In this one, he wants everyone to see how he can do a somersault.



Here's a photo of Aaron and Shawn together.

The wheels are off!

I can now ride my bike with no training wheels! Here is a picture of my bike and me with the training wheels removed. Some of my favorite foods macaroni and cheese, McDonald's chicken nuggets, and coca-cola. I like candles. It is hot here, but we jump in the pool to cool off. I like the sun. I like roller coasters at Cypress Gardens. My favorite one is Swamp Thing and your feet dangle. It is fun, it is fast, and I like it. I like yellow cheese. I want a bike for big kids now.

Editorial note: Cypress Gardens is a theme park in Orlando that we have season passes for.

lauren's life

My life well I wake up to Katie watching Sprouts (air quotes). Then I go to ELC extended learning care yah right! It's torture. I can't bare take my friend and make her suffer too. I am going to sixth grade and I dont get lockers or a backpack! Me and my friend Taylor are going to ride the bus there. After school I might be able to stay home alone. Well your probably wondering what I do after ELC. I'm just trying to build up suspense. We ride bikes down a hill. And we all so swim in my friend's pool. I am the goalie for the winning soccer team at YMCA. That's it.

Lauren

Hi Raniya

Hi Raniya, I am Katie. I am your cousin and I would like to be penpals. I am six years old and I live in Florida near Disney. I am starting first grade and just got new dolls. We have four pets. Missy and Pete are dogs. Nico and Momo are cats. I like dance class, swimming, and playing with my dolls. I like princesses and that is all.

Please write back
Katie Elizabeth Griffith

(as told to Triesta)

Friendly advice?

If I could tap into some friendly advice, I would appreciate it...

Have any of you gone back to your high school reunion? I just received (ok, a month ago) an invitation for my 20th High School Reunion. I don't want to go.

It has been 20 years, and I don't really keep in touch with anyone. No bad feelings or anything--nothing like Carrie--I just have no interest in seeing anyone.

Plus, there is the money. It is not cheap and I can honestly think of better ways to spend it (I have to get up to Campobello to claim my prize somehow).

I don't think I am alone--it seems a lot of people think the idea of a reunion is stressful. So... I am missing out on something that I will treasure for the rest of my life?

Satellite Pics

Here are some satellite pics I got from Google of the neighborhood. Click the image to link to an enlarged image.

This first one is from the old Sherwood home. Notice the vet is still there, but the horse track is gone. Stable remains though.

These next two are of Blackburn Ave (renamed Blackburn St) and what I think it your childhood home. The first one is of the close-up of what I think is the home. I trailed along the road, trying to remember the topography.

This is a view that has been pulled back a bit to see more of a bird's eye view.

Next contest comes online!

OK, here we go--the next contest. This will be a little harder, and will take some investigative work.

To give some hints, this is a building we have all been in (except Kelly), but not recently. We each visited, but at a generation apart. There has been some change to the front of the building since we last visited, but the core remains the same.

Sometimes we spent more time outdoors than in, or probably had more fun outside than in.

But even though you might be tempted to "Rus-h" to frustration, realize that the answer is elementary, my dear watsons.

I can post more hints should we have problems with this one, but I will be unable to go into this building to ask what they do--the commute is too much. It doesn't matter, we all know. Good luck!

A day in my life...

This morning I woke up to a wide-eyed 6-year old, horrified at the thought conspiratorially whispered by her 9-year old brother sporting an impish smile. At the break of dawn (ok, really 10:15am) I had to explain, "No Katie, there is no such thing as brain freeze--the brain can not freeze (unless you are on the Titanic or outer space, but I digress)--and it is nothing you will die from. It is a saying, but not real . . . Yes, like a joke . . . Yes, it is a mean one, but don't be scared anymore." Kids... even though I am sure I came up with some doozies in my time.

My personal life includes my adopted family with three children: Lauren (11), Austin (9), and Katie (6). I will post pictures later, maybe even add them to the blog so they can muse what an evil stepmother I am.

Lauren is entering jr high this year and loves shopping, cooking, and playing with her friends. I coach her soccer team each time the season comes around, and she plays goalie. She has great fashion sense, very outgoing, and always likes meeting new people. We can't be anywhere for long and Lauren has made a friend. She is very loyal to her friends and is a good friend to them.

Austin is extremely intelligent, very witty (he put a kiwi into a pan and exclaimed "Look--Harry Potter!), and loves all things Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh (even though I think their popularity is on the way out), and Star Wars. He does judo and enjoys playing with his friends, eating nachos, and watching movies.

Katie is the prima donna and drama queen of the family, but with her bright smile and openly loving way, all is forgiven. She loves princesses, and will tell you she knows all about the Disney princesses, Spongebob Squarepants, and singing to songs in the car. She even does a great operatic rendition of her day at school, a daily ritual with her mom.

All the kids love the outdoors--kayaking, going to the beach, camping, or just riding bikes in the neighborhood. We live in a great neighborhood (a cul de sac) where there are four other families with kids right around their ages, and many other households who band together to make for great holiday experiences for the kids. At July 4th, there was an open pool party with food, badmitton, ping pong, and the fireworks Shawn brought me from South Carolina. There is always a Halloween party, and the whole neighborhood supports the kids' birthdays.

Kelly is their mother and my partner of over four years. They get their love of the outdoors from her, and she even hosts a kayaking group that has monthly outings to the waterways around central Florida (there are a lot). She is a bureau chief for the Orlando Sentinel, does a blog called Across the Pond which is immensely popular, and has a weekly column that is always a great read. Kelly is always quick to laugh, loves traveling and camping, very intelligent, and a loyal friend to all who know her.

We have four pets: Pete the dog (7), Missy the dog (6 mos), Nico the cat (5), and Momo the cat (6 mos). They are a lot of company to me while I work at home.

We have been following World Cup this year by seeing the games at a place called The Pub. The rest of the family has been routing for England, but I was the sole Brazil hold-out. With both out of the running, we are now routing for Italy since my best friend Manuela is an Italian native. We look forward to the game this Sunday.

I am happy to say that for my daily working life, I have broken the shackles of a 9-5 job. Not that I didn't do my time working EXTREMELY long hours, but my job description is a bit different. I now work for Full Sail, a new media college in Winter Park. I teach three classes (Digital Publishing, Type & Page Layout, and Portfolio Creation), but I have since hired associate course directors so I don't spend as much time in the classroom. I tend to float in and out of my favorite lectures and there for critiques of student projects. I work on the lecture presentations and administrative stuff, much of which I do from home. I love my job, and definitely love the flexibility. Because of this flexibility, I am able to help with childcare and spend a lot of time with the kids.

I enjoy reading, movies, exploring restaurants, travelling, Starbucks coffee, and drink way too much diet coke. I am currently pursuing my MFA in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art & Design, taking it completely online. I am the Education Chair for a national design organization called AIGA, and still do some work freelance under Blu Art & Design. I am a vegetarian (even though I still get a craving for pepperoni) and enjoy interior design and shopping (maybe too much).

I love blogging with everyone, and I am really enjoying getting to know you both. Even though I promise you, I will WIN the next contest :-)

World Cup 2006

Is anyone following the World Cup this year? I have been following it since the beginning last week and I am really enjoying watching the games. I have always been a fan of the Brazilian National team (the US team isn't so good), even though it seems that Croatia might be a dark horse this tournament.

For those not familiar with the World Cup, it is a soccer tournament held every four years, and this time it is hosted by Germany. Soccer is the world's sport (ok, in every country except USA) and the fans are very fanatical.

Soccer (or football) is like a religion in Brazil--they even delayed the national mass for an hour so people could watch Brazil in the finals in 2002. England and Germany also have strong teams this year.

Saturday the USA is playing Italy, also a very strong team, but it is a crucial game because if the US loses, they get eliminated from the tournament. The game will be televised on ABC at 3pm EST.

Comfort foods?

When I was contemplating my dinner for tonight, I decided on Indian--in fact it is sort of a ritual that I go to an Indian restaurant in every city I visit. And I must say that I had the best Indian meal I have ever had. I went to the Tamba Restaurant in Las Vegas for dinner and tried the Murgh Makhni, and it was the most delicious I have ever tasted.

Which brought up an interesting thought: Indian food is my favorite type of cuisine, one that traces back to the trips to Oman. In fact, it has almost become a comfort food to me.

Indian isn't the only one of course--I like the usual suspects too in chocolate and caramel. And coffee is a comfort smell.

But I think it is interesting because I think comfort foods and smells are some of the things rooted in our history.

Sooo... let's sound off. Does anyone else have comfort foods or guilty pleasures?

Oh yeah, and if anyone is interested, I found the recipe for Murgh Makhni here. I know the title sounds a little unappetizing, but you should give it a try!