THB: Celebrating Two Years
Wow, how time flies. I just realized that this month is the two-year anniversary of the Tol House Blog, or as all the cool kids are calling it these days, THB. Two years on the internet… that’s like 37 people years, right?
Anyways, we’d like to thank all the little people, our agents, managers, lawyers, spiritual advisors, dietitians, personal trainers, doctors, “life” coaches, assistants, former personal trainers, former “life” coaches now behind bars (Bob, I know you stole $200,000 from me, but we still love you) and Mocha the cat.
Wait, what’s that? We don’t have “people?” Oh… So maybe we’ll just thank Mocha the cat, Wordpress.com for this great free service, and you, our faithful readers. Here’s to many more wonderful years of Tol House Blog THB.
Flip Video
I have a working theory I want to run by you: Someday, archeologists won’t have to go digging through old cities or landfills to determine how we lived; they’ll just dig through youtube instead. Although, sometimes I can’t tell the difference between youtube or a landfill. But that’s a theory for a different post. (Although, in all seriously, last month’s Wired Magazine included an article about video usage in a digital age. Worth the read if you get a chance.)
But you don’t care about magazines and digital ages, do you! Let’s be honest: you’re here to see Noah playing with trucks. Well, always said give the masses what they want, so here you go, faithful readers:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhmmhTReeUM]
How this never got nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. Brad Pitt in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ or Noah playing with trucks… Seriously, is there any competition? (No offense to Mr. Pitt: Fight Club rocks.)
Ahem. Anyways, moving along: We shot this movie with our new Flip video camera, which we got for our trip to Ethiopia. I’m pretty impressed: It fits in your pocket, takes 60 minutes of video, and includes software to edit your movie together. It even came with the music I added to the clip.
So, I’m guessing you’ll be seeing more Oscar bait cute videos on the Tol House blog in the near future. Time to stock up on popcorn…
Thanks a lot, George
We’ve been having a few plumbing issues around the house lately. Some have resolved… others remain. Here’s the scoop:
Brrr…..It’s Freezing in Here!
As I posted earlier, we enjoyed some time away visiting Brian’s family last week. It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend and we had a great time celebrating both Christmas and all our winter birthdays. (We coined the term “Birthmas” for this January celebration.) But we returned home to a problem: No running water.
Those of you who live in the great North know that it got quite cold last week. And, you guessed it, while we were gone, our pipes froze. It was quite puzzling to us because we hadn’t turned our heat off in the house, but just turned it down to a mild 58 degrees. Guess what? Apparently 58 degrees upstairs equates to less than 32 degrees somewhere down in our basement!
We’re still not sure where exactly the freezing took place. But it took about a day of various heating methods (including me, in the basement, with a book in one hand, and a hair dryer pointed at our pipes in the other) before they finally “unfroze” and the water started running again. Fortunately, there doesn’t appear to have been any damage. And the water was kind enough to start flowing just an hour before the plumber was due, so we avoided the cost. So, after a day of fretting and puzzlement, we were back in the water business.
A More Serious Concern
But there’s more. Another significant plumbing problem has developed in our tub. It involves a toddler and a sudden and strong fear of taking a bath in the tub. It started a couple weeks ago when Noah started throwing his toys out of the tub like a madman whenever we drained the tub. Apparently, he was scared that one of his precious choo-choo toys might go down the drain. And this has grown into a full-blown fear that he himself could be sucked down the drain as well.
Yes, we’ve tried to explain the laws of physics surrounding drains and the impossibility of a 30 pound toddler getting squeezed through. No, we have not managed to convince our little drain-a-phobe that he and his toys are completely safe. After some nights of skipped baths, and some nights of screaming through his bath, we’ve struck a compromise with Noah: We Cover the evil drain with a large washcloth during bathtime and scrub as quickly as possible to minimize time in the tub.
And you know who we can thank for all this drama? PBS. They broadcast a Curious George cartoon that Noah likes to watch from time to time. A few weeks ago, a curious George episode feature George taking a bath, and deciding he wanted new tub toys. He went into his bedroom and grabbed a box of small toys and brought them into the tub. And when he drained the tub, of course the tiny toys got sucked down the drain and created a colossal clog.
Now I understand, the cartoon writers were just setting up the plot so the plumber could come and Curious George could learn all about how pipes and plumbing works. Nice concept, that. But unfortunately, it has scarred Noah with a fear of any and everything getting sucked down our drain. And to think, my tax dollars have actually funded this phobia…
So, thanks a lot, George. Your cute little monkey antics have given our son an irrational fear of drains. Do you suppose PBS is planning a new episode to deal with this particular problem?
Snowy Travels
I’m sitting in South Holland, IL as I write this, happy to finally be here after a long ride. We’re here to celebrate Christmas with Brian’s family, and the snowy, cold weather is creating a true holiday feel! The roads were alright, but our journey–which usually takes about 2 hours–lasted over four hours instead. A few accidents slowed things to a crawl for a few miles, but thankfully we were stocked with plenty of truck/train/car videos to keep Noah entertained.
So here are the pressing questions today’s journey has conjured in my mind:
1. Why can’t we just put a snow-melt system under the highways? I know it’s expensive, but really–isn’t year after year of salt trucks and snow plows and anger management seminars for inpatient drivers kinda pricey too?
2. Why do some people refuse to slow down in slippery, snowy conditions? We saw a semi pass us earlier in our journey, clipping along at a dangerous pace for the conditions. Interestingly, we watched the same semi getting hoisted onto the back of a tow truck a little farther down the road!
3. How do you explain to a 2-year-old that no, Mommy really doesn’t have the power to “Make cars move. Make us go grandma’s house!” (Said with great earnestness and intensity)
Well, thankfully we made it here safely. And Noah’s patience was rewarded with a strawberry shake from McDonald’s, so he’s forgiven me for my lack of traffic control superpowers.
Now we’re enjoying a little peace and quiet at my in-laws house, as we wait for the rest of the crew to join us. Brian’s parents are out to pick up Jason & Steph from the train station as I type. Which leaves just me, Brian (who is working at the moment), Noah (down for a nap), and a laptop that was just begging to be used.
But now I smell coffee…. (thanks Brian!) So that’s my que to set blogging aside and refuel. For those of you (like me) who haven’t managed to escape the clutches of northern winters, I wish you all safe travels and warm homes!
Nothin’ Special…y
So I’ve been a pretty lousy blogger lately. I’ll think about blogging–often. But somehow, that rarely translates into action. I think it’s because I’m always looking for that “big idea” to write about. And though I love this place I’m at in life, it is rather predictable and uneventful at the moment. Somehow, nothing seems to qualify as blog-worthy in my everyday life.
But then, I’ve been noticing something. You see, I’m a bit of a blog-stalker: That’s what I call it when you read someone else’s blog quite regularly, but they have no idea who you are. Mostly, I’ve found blogs of families adopting from Ethiopia and enjoy reading their thoughts about the journey. But as I was reading one of those blogs this afternoon, I realized something: It’s not the big events or hilarious anecdotes that keep me returning to the blog. (Though it’s nice to read about those, no doubt.) Really, I just like getting a glimpse into the hearts of these people who share something in common with me–listening to their doubts, their triumphs, their questions and fears.
And I’m feeling inspired by their honesty. So call it a belated New Year’s Resolution if you like, but I’m resolving to be a more faithful blogger. To worry a little less about whether my posts will be entertaining or witty enough. To spend less time deciding on a clever post idea. And to spend more time simply writing about my life and my thoughts–in all their glorious simplicity.
I share this with you for two reasons: One, so you’ll understand why my posts might seem a little less polished, a little more real. And two, because there’s nothing like throwing your goals out on the Internet to give you instant accountability.
So there you have it. My random musings for today. 