Had to add these really cute pics that were taken of Jude last month.  Awwwwww!

Do I see red highlights in that hair?  I think we're in trouble! 

Seriously....does ANYONE really think that I'm going to believe that a person with an email like MAYONAISEKISS is going to send me a free laptop computer?

Are you prepared in case of a natural disaster? What do your plan and preparations include?

Been watching Hurricane Ida, but unless it hooks in suddenly, I don't think it will bother us down around Tampa Bay.  Nevertheless, we must watch for hurricanes from June-November every year.  One of our worst enemies is complacency - it's very important to be ready.

We start by gathering food prior to the start of hurricane season.  Stuff that you can eat that doesn't require cooking or refrigeration - Tuna fish, canned corned beef, crackers, jello packs, lots and lots and lots of water, etc.  This horde is then stored for the next 6 months, along with some basics like matches, tp, batteries, playing cards, etc.  On top of this, we also take stuff like dog food, vaccination records, etc. and have those all ready to go. 

We also ensure all important papers are gathered together in one place and ready to go.  We also set aside money to go to a motel as opposed to a shelter, so we can take our pets.

In other words, for 6 mos out of the year, we prepare to pack up and leave on a moment's notice lol.

Ahhh the price we pay to live in paradise <3

I haven't had many funny tag moments, so here are some odd tweets that I've come across this week...

Stop being so paranoid. No one's out to get you. You're not that important. Here. I'll show you. We'll all show you.

Just had a rad meeting with jon brion. looks like we're gonna work together on the new album! Dreams do come true:•)

"Goddammit, you bitch! You never backed away from anything in your life! Now fight!" - Me. Just now. To my toilet.

Radiohead to race in Breeders' Cup. Radiohead the horse, that is.

Check out the AKC at the Canine Carnival

If a cat wants you to cuddle it, cuddle it. If it's a gym teacher wearing poorly-applied Peter Criss makeup, use your own discretion.

Nobu food is stupid good! Indy recommends Zaru w/ soba noodles. Lucy thrilled 2 see Courtney Cox & Dan Aykroyd. She's still a looky-loo.

sorry again to everyone for the hijacking terrorist who took over my acct!

The fact I have a 64 pack of crayons and *still* have to go to work is a crime against humanity. IT HAS THE SHARPENER IN THE THE BACK.

Semi-colons are the hermaphrodites of the punctuation kingdom.

How do you use the Internet to stay informed about the things that matter to you?

Sponsored by Yahoo!

Oh, this is a good question, particularly because I'm dependant upon the Internet for all of my information.  For starters, I didn't buy into that whole digital revolution and buy a converter box for my television.  Sorry but, honestly, it's really not worth it for me.  When I have to go buy a new tele, then I'll fork out enough for the kind that will go digital, but I really resent being forced to either buy new equipment or pay for cable/satellite tv.  Bite me.

That being said, I turn to the Internet when I want news.  I cheat in that my homepage is set to Yahoo and so I can look at the news there, whenever I log in.  Quite often, I'll find something of interest and chase it down on the various news websites, like CNN.

6 months out of every year (June - November), we have to watch the satellite and radar reports for signs of tropical storms and hurricanes.  For this, I make a daily check on the website for The Weather Channel.  There, I can watch the waves as they come off the coast of Africa and make their way to the west.  I also, occasionally, check the National Hurricane Center but most of their stuff is text and statistics.  I like the imagry of the weather station better.

I use social networking sites, like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, not only to stay abreast of what my friends are up to, but also to update others on what I'm doing.  Oddly enough, I have somewhere around 40 people following me on Twitter now.

Why??

Hell if I know!  But they're there...  *queues creepy music*

And let me say, for the record, Lou Diamond Phillips tweets a hell of a lot more than I do.  o.O

Obama was elected a year ago today and has now been in office for almost ten months. How do you think he is doing? What's the best thing you think he's done so far? The worst?

Honestly, I'm still waiting to see what he's going to do.  I voted for him and I'm really looking forward to some changes coming from his stay in office but, to date, I've really not seen much accomplished.

This isn't a critisism, however - By the time George Bush finished with this country, it was a mess, and I'm sure President Obama has his hands full just trying to get the basics squared away.  It won't happen overnight.

I just hope we start to see some results soon.

How old do you think children should be before they join social networks like Facebook and MySpace?

Honestly, I think a lot of this should depend on the maturity of the child.  My daughter got a MySpace when she was about 16 and that was how I ended up really learning about it.  I went and did quite a bit of looking into it and then sat down with her and discussed it at length, along with different methods people could use to get her info, what not to tell people, etc.

My son signed up for a MySpace when he was 14, but he signed up for the sole purpose of communicating with his sister, who didn't have the time to communicate with him via other means.  To this date, he hasn't friended anyone else but her, and he doesn't talk to anyone on it.  He seems to have no desire to do so.

The two are very separate styles - my daughter is very social and has a lot of friends and quite active on there, whereas my son isn't.  Personally, I would prefer they went with email to communicate with one another, and completely left the social networking alone.  While I think it's wonderful that kids can communicate like this, the horrors of internet predators make it too risky to feel really comfortable with it.

If you could only drink one beverage for the rest of your life (not including water), which one would you choose?

I'd choose tea.  I'm a big fan of chai but, for the long haul, I think I'd go with a green tea with maybe a hint of fruit.  Peach or pomegranate, most likely.  It's more refreshing and stimulating than chai.

My daughter sent me new pics of Jude since I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks, so sharing...  This is him at an adorable 9 mos.  He can now stand and throws his  hands up in the air and says, "Yay!"  He also says Mama and Dada and is pretty good about petting Dali without pulling too much fur.

Yikes... Jude standing on the couch.

And then, finally, a shot of Jude's tushie.  Di makes his diapers for him because they are less expensive than disposable and she can make them look really bright and colourful she says (the jury's still out as to whether or not skull and crossbone pirate diapers are... bright).  She does an awesome job with them though and they're specially layered so that he doesn't soak right through his clothes if he pees, yet she doesn't have to use rubber pants either (horrible in this heat).  They have elastic in the legs and waist, but she uses them with pins, rather than making them velcro - like his mother, Jude is very artistic and finds stuff in his diaper to be a wonderful media to create with.  So, yeah... locking pins.

And here's the latest baby pics... Jude @ 8 mos!  Playing on the floor (with a pizza box?) at home, at the park for his cousin's bday and showing off his hat, and finally, Jude with his daddy at the park.