Guest blogger of the day: 3Po

Many months ago I featured my first guest blogger: my son Jammy, with an action-packed Power Ranger story. Not to be outdone, his brother 3Po responded with an equally thrilling piece. As you might guess that they're big on Power Rangers and shooting... (sigh)


Funny Power Ranger Suit, by 3Po
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Once upon a time there were 2 Power Rangers who shot a bad guy. They were sailing on a boat and they accidentally shot underwater. They went home and they shot the sun! -- It got bloody -- and it backfired onto a witch! Then they punched someone who was holding a shooter. And after that someone banged outer space,and someone skated over again and shot a big number. It was 16.

The End.

Beautiful

It occurred to me that I haven't really gotten around to showing off too many of the photos we took during our summer trip, so for this week's Photo Hunt I thought I'd showcase some of the beautiful sights of England and Ireland...

We were surprised to find such a great example of Gothic architecture masquerading as a government building. The Royal Courts of Justice, right smack in the middle of central London, had no tourists swarming around it, no vendors hawking postcards of the facade, but I found it as impressive as any cathedral. Imagine going to work in a building like that!


Out of all the famous buildings scatterred throughout Stratford-Upon-Avon, the childhood home of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, was our runaway favorite. It was the postcard-perfect epitomy of a charming English cottage. And that was while the skies were gray with rain; all that prettiness would have been almost too much to bear had the sun been shining.

The Dublin pubs, especially the ones in the Temple Bar area, were such a joy to look at: bright, colorful, unique and well-kept. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside: the brews were tasty, the music was lively and the people were friendly.

Last but not least, "beautiful" is commonly used in England to describe great-tasting food (i.e. "that was a really lovely meal", or "oooh, your strawberry shortcake was absolutely beautiful"). Our first dinner in Dublin -- Irish lamb stew and a pint of Guinness -- certainly falls into that category. Mmmmm.... beautiful. Oh, and the gentleman enjoying the meal is quite beautiful as well, don't you think?

For more beautiful things, click here.

Yup, that's me

My friend mod*mom recently asked me if I had a blog button she could add to her sidebar. I actually don't, and that got me to thinking, why not. So I began thinking about how I would encapsulate myself and my blog in one little button. I didn't come up with any answers or any blog buttons, but I did end up with a nice little doodle. I used to draw all the time as a kid, but never really pursued it beyond my preteen years. It was nice to know that it's still in me somewhere.

I've left my mind behind

Okay, this jet lag thing is getting out of hand. When I used to travel for business, I could get over it (or deal with it) within a day. Three days, even four, I can handle. But a whole week? The lack of sleep is starting to do crazy things to my mind:

I missed a dentist appointment on Monday.

On Tuesday I put the milk jug into the cereal cabinet.

Two nights ago, Alfie asked me to get him two Zantacs on my way to bed. He popped them into his mouth, then spat them out, musing, "Funny, this Zantac doesn't feel right". Horrors! I realized I had given him two Zyrtec pills, not Zantac pills! God only knows what made him stop and roll those pills around in his mouth instead of swallowing them outright. Yes, he drives me crazy sometimes but I swear to you, I'm not trying to kill him.

And today, I completely forgot to pick The Pea up from school. I thought it was Tuesday and planned for a 2:20PM pickup. At 1:30 I got a frantic call from Alfie, saying the school had called him because no-one had fetched The Pea. D-uh, it's Wednesday, 1:15 dismissal!

With all these back-to-school activities going on, I'll need to be checking my Yahoo calendar every five minutes for the next several days because I'm terrified of missing something. Oh, and keep me away from the medicine cabinet.

One Last Fling

What sweeter way to end the summer than with a visit to the Jelly Belly factory?


We decided to make one final journey before the schoolyear starts tomorrow.


The kids loved visiting the Nut Tree Theme Park in Vacaville. With the combination of a just-their-size roller coaster, cooling water jets on the train ride and no long waiting lines, they were really flying high.


After such a hectic summer, this photographer is happy to take a seat!


You could win free tickets to the Nut Tree theme park! To enter, read my post here and leave a comment.

Wrinkled

The wrinkles are coming, the wrinkles are coming!!! The passage of time is starting to leave tracks on my face.....

For more wrinkles, click here.

I'll say it My Way

Overheard after our visit to Dublin, Ireland

Alfie: Did you enjoy Dublin?
Jammy: Yes, I liked Dubba-lin.
Alfie: Not Dubba-lin, Dublin.
Jammy: Dubba-lin.
Alfie: Say Dub...
Jammy: Dub...
Alfie: Say Lin...
Jammy: Lin...
Alfie: Now say Dub........Lin.
Jammy: Dub.......Lin.
Alfie: Good! Now say Dublin.
Jammy: Dubba-lin.

Colorful

What could be more colorful than a rainbow? Why, a double rainbow, of course!

For more colorful things, click here.

Dark

The Pea's blonde hair gets cries of admiration from relatives and open stares from strangers because fair-haired Filipinas, even ones of mixed heritage, are quite rare. In contrast, The Pea's hair is no big deal in Alfie's side of the family. In fact, his mother is quite partial to our boys' dark hair and eyes. She has always wanted dark-haired grandchildren and is happy that two out of her six grandchildren have coloring like her own father's.

For more dark things, click here.

The sign says it all

Alfie and I took a break from parenting and got in touch with our literary side during our recent trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Helpful signs were everywhere, as one would expect from such a popular tourist destination.



The cafes and shops seem to have been infected with Shakespeare's wit; everywhere we turned we saw signs making references to the man who so generously ensures them of a steady income:


Even from his grave, Shakespeare made sure he got the last word:



But the funniest sign of all had nothing to do with Shakespeare whatsoever. We spotted it on the outskirts of Stratford. I've seen crossings for schoolchildren and deer and even ducks, but never for this type of lifeform: