Tree-Time!

Our annual tradition is to get our Christmas Tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. So, after I dropped Michelle off at the airport, we went to get the tree!

Ella and I shopping.

Playing with lights!

More fun with electrical wires.

Psychod-ella-ic! My god, I am way too cheesy.

Finished product (with flash)...

...and without flash.

Thanksgiving Fun!

We had a HUGE meal for thanksgiving dinner - I, of course, cooked WAY too much stuff - an 18lb turkey for 6 people (one of which cannot ingest poultry), a ton of mashed potatoes, stuffing, veggies, etc etc. We have so many leftovers...which is my favorite part of the whole thing...! Here's some photos of the event, along with Ella on the beach in the morning. This weekend we get our Christmas Tree! Should be a pleasure trying to keep Ella from pulling it down...

Staring out to sea...

Those shoes are unreal.

Ella's first shell.

Gobble, Gobble everyone!

Happy Thanksgving!

Happenings in the LBC

Last week, I organized an informal LBHS Class of 94 Reunion, since we never had a 10 year get together. We met up at a local bar, Sutton Place, and had a few drinks, reminisced, and showed each other pics of our kids. HOLY SHIT did I feel old. Here are a couple of photos, courtesy of Dhanraj:




Today I ran the Long Beach 10k Turkey Trot - it didn't go near as well as last week's 10k, I finished in 54:24, nearly 2 minutes slower than last week, but whatever. I know excuses are like assholes (everyone's got one!), but I got a major stitch in my right side from mile 2 that did not go away until the end. That hampered me quite a bit, but like I said...whatever. Last year, when I was warming up, I noticed Erik from one of my favorite shows, The Biggest Loser, was there. That was awesome. This year, I noticed someone running around with a Biggest Loser T-Shirt on, and I was like, "Who IS that?" It turned out to be Jim, one of the twin brothers who was on the show this season! I said hi to him and his wife, congratulated him and wished him luck on the race. When I finished, Angela came running to say hi, and I said "Jim from The Biggest Loser is here running!" Just as I said that, his wife walked past, and we got to talking a bit, and when Jim finished, Angela snapped a photo of us. He was a super nice guy, and it made my crappy finishing time a lot easier to swallow. Here's some pics!

Crap time compared to last week...oh well!

Jim, myself and Ella

Florida, etc...

Just got back from our jaunt to Florida! Ella did fairly well on the flights, as long as no stranger came anywhere in her line of sight. We kept a steady supply of snacks and Wonder Pets on DVD (thanks to dad's portable dvd player!), which made her happy throughout. She did not, however, nap. While in FLA, Ella had a great time with Nanny and Poppy, Carl and Rachel, and Sunny the cat. We went swimming, to several malls, and out to eat...and that's about all there is to do in FLA with a 16 month old. Not old enough for Disney just yet. So, here's a couple of pics:

In the pool!

Us with Nanny and Poppy

A vet in the making?

Tomorrow I run another 10k in the cold and possibly rainy weather. Hopefully I don't get sick, although I am already nursing a scratchy throat. All in the name of "fitness." Or should I say "insanity."

Rockville Centre 10k Run

Just got back, finished in a PR (personal record) time of 52:27 - over a minute better than my last race in April. Now I am aiming to beat that time next week in the Long Beach Turkey Trot 10k...! We'll see what happens. Off to FLA tomorrow to see Nanny and Poppy, Carl and Rach, very exciting...as long as Ella cooperates of course. We are going equipped with a portable DVD player and 100 minutes of Wonder Pets on DVD. Fingers crossed...

Jets...

Today's Jets game was actually competitive for a while - as the game went into overtime, I decided the Jets needed me. And so, I dressed my daughter and myself in Jets jerseys. Here's the proof:A double-dose of Chad Pennington.

Happy moments...

...alas, the Jets fell to 1-8 as the Redskins defeated them in overtime. The happiness quickly faded. Ella asked for a beer to drown her sorrows, but I declined her request due to the lack of alcoholic beverages in my house. Now that I think about it, maybe "BAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOO" didn't mean "Beer, please, father," perhaps it meant something totally different, like "Listen big hairy man with bald head and oversized green shirt, get this huge scratchy matching dress off me!!!"
Ella is recovering well from her first ever ear infection. She actually developed it in both ears, the poor thing! We noticed a few days ago that she was really cranky and developed a bit of a cold (again) - she then proceeded to rip at her ears and slam her head into the ground. Oh, and she had 101.7 F fever. At that point, we called the doctors, she was brought in immediately and diagnosed. She now is on Amoxicillin and loving it (seriously - this baby could not take medicine any better. She even sucks down her liquid multi-vitamin [which smells like beef-stock] like it was liquid deliciousness!), and is back to her old self. Still battling the sniffles, but she is a trooper.