As many of you may know, I've been working on a project for Folgers for about the last 4 or 5 weeks, and it's finally done. Ahhh.....

Check out the site here: http://apps.folgers.com/gourmet-selections-coffee/. It's a pretty cool little app, using Flash and PHP, and I definitely got to try some new techniques that will come in handy later. Now, as some of you may also know, the hours were kind of crazy on this project, for a multitude of reasons. The important thing here is that I'm finished, though. I should have more time to post a little more frequently on the blog, as well as continuing the re-design/development. I've been putting that off for way too long.

Have a great weekend everybody. Cheers!

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My father died on June 18, 2008. That's what the headstone says anyway. Deep down, I knew that I would somehow find out when he was dead, no matter how many years went by between contact. I suppose I didn't expect it to be so soon, before he knew about my marriage or my MS. I guess I expected him to have grandchildren he may or may not have known about. Somehow I thought he would drift back into my life, discover all of the important stuff, and then drift out again before the end.

I've been thinking about Brian's death over the past few weeks, (and his short life, for that matter.) The days surrounding his funeral were hell on earth, but I was surrounded by people experiencing that same version of hell. We held each other up; we held each other together. My father's death leaves me feeling incredibly alone. I have an amazing support system, but there is not one person on this planet that can possibly understand this odd awful version of hell. When Brian died, at least I knew how to feel.

A few days after he died, I saw a license plate that read, 'ITS2LATE” or something along those lines, something that broke me, made my body shake. There have been many moments like that one, so many random messages. I have thought about my father more in the last three weeks than in the last three years combined; I have thought about our good times more in the last three weeks than in the past fourteen years combined.

I am traveling to San Antonio next week. My two favorite Moms are driving with me and together we will pack up the pieces of my father's life. I am dreading it, but I know that this is the beginning of the end of my uncomfortable relationship with my father. Maybe by fulfilling this so-called duty, I can find some sort of so-called peace with him and with myself. I can try anyway.

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Faithful readers...you're probably wondering why we've been lazy bloggers recently. We apologize. What it boils down to is I've been busting my ass on a project for at work that's launching soon. I promise, there will be a nice, witty, lengthy blog post like you're used to when this project is finished.

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Lou's birthday was May 25th. We went down to the Taste of Cincinnati, twice in one weekend! We had a loverly time and ate lots of food. We discussed the new meaning of birthdays, now that she's soon to be a mommy. It's a big difference between a birthday and a Birth Day.

I remember my baby sister's Birth Day. I was twelve and she so graciously has provided me with good stories forever after. Rebecca's birthday was on June 3rd. Ben and I celebrated with Becca and her boyfriend at Carrabas. We drove home dodging tornadoes. Eep!

One other recent birthday to celebrate: my dear Christy-friend and her husband Josh welcomed their daughter Clara Anne into the world on June 2nd. Happy Birth Day teeny one.

Funny coincidence: Exactly nineteen years before Clara, I waited at Christy's house for Becca to come. Becca was born the day after I finished 6th grade, and I had spent the night at Christy's house, as was the tradition at the end of the school year. The next afternoon, my aunt picked me up and took me to the hospital. We made it time to watch Baby Becca being wheeled out of the delivery room. The Doctor quipped, "She's a Fields! Look at the chin!"

And that was only the first of the stories. :)

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I posted about this some time ago, but we were talking about it last night at dinner, so I thought I'd re-post it.

Daniel Tammet is a 27 year old (maybe 28 by now) savant. He's different from most savants in that he doesn't really show any signs of mental disability. And he can actually relay his thought process, and how he does what he does.

I won't go into much great detail about the things he does, but you must watch these videos. There are several video clips on the page, and I suggest you watch them all.

Amazing.

Brain main - 60 Minutes Exclusive on Yahoo!

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Ok kids. You don't know how excited I am about this weekend. Word on the street is that I am going to have quite the fan club at the show on Saturday. For those of you that can't wait or can't make it, check out THIS SITE for some super amazing sweet pictures.

eep!

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For those who haven't heard, there are actually going to be two Hobbit films, directed by none other than Guillermo del Toro. With Peter Jackson producing. And Ian McKellan reprising his role as Gandalf. And quite possibly Andy Serkis as Gollum. How cool is that?

Ian McKellan was fabulous in all three LOTR films, and the news that he will be in the Hobbit films is exactly what I wanted to hear. No idea when they're going to be released for sure, but I think sometime in 2009 is a safe bet.

In completely unrelated news, today is my last day at KnowledgeWorks, and I have a nice long weekend ahead of me. Ahh....

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Just a quick update for everybody - the job hunt is over! I accepted an Associate Web Developer position at Bridge Worldwide today, and I start May 5th. I'm pretty excited, as they were my number 1 choice of all the companies I submitted my résumé to.

I'm sure I'm going to love it there - and all you Bungles fans will be jealous; our offices look directly into Paul Brown stadium :)

Cheers.

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What a busy weekend I had! Lissa and I saw two local theatre productions, one funny, one a little too close to home. Both were well acted and starred people that I have done shows with. I made it a point to start a conversation with a director that I had never formally been introduced to, and he knew who I was! He knew about the show I'm doing and about my recent "promotion." I felt a little famous, I must admit.

Lissa and I went to Findlay market, though I didn't buy anything. I showed a few houses, and got a couple of applications. I had a store meeting tonight; I went to rehearsal this afternoon. Have I mentioned how amazing this play is? We ran a few scenes; I know most of my lines. I tried on a couple of costumes; they are very cute and VERY girly. No yellow jumpers this time.

I don't really know what Ben did this weekend. He's been doing a bit of job hunting and he bought a new computer game recently. He helped Lissa's dad fix a computer issue on Sat, and he went to a movie with Jason today. I guess it's good I keep myself busy. :)

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So maybe two of you are going to find this interesting, but it's definitely the coolest music news I've heard in some time. A few nights ago at a Foo Fighters concert in Toronto, Taylor Hawkins, the Foos drummer finishes his drum solo and Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson from Rush come out on stage and proceed to rock out "YYZ" with Taylor.

If you know Rush, you know they don't do things like this often, or ever really, so this is especially cool.

Check it out on YouTube...

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So maybe I shouldn't be working on our site when I'm on cold medicine. I thought I was working in my local database and I inadvertently deleted a bunch of comments. Turns out I had the live database open. If none of that made any sense, it means that I accidentally deleted all comments going back to mid-January of this year. Unfortunately I can't get any of them back :(

Maybe I should just go to bed now...

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A few weeks ago, I auditioned for, and won, a small part in a local community theatre production of Inherit The Wind. Four days ago, the director asked me if I would be interested in taking on a larger role, as one of the actors had to back out of the play. Last night, after auditioning another actress or two, he offered me the role of Rachel.

I'm not sure what the best part of the situation is: I love the character. I think the director is pulling amazing stuff out of the cast. Every member of this cast is warm and inviting. The rehearsal space is less than ten minutes from our house. I am absolutely ecstatic to have gotten this amazing opportunity.

Here's where old neurosis steps in: WHAT IF I CAN'T PULL IT OFF?!

EEP! My stomach has been tied up in knots for about 24 hours now. I was reviewing lines at 5 o'clock this morning, while waiting for my opening employee to meet me. I can't stop thinking about the play. Truthfully, most of my thoughts are happy thoughts, but one crazy doubting one sneaks in here and there.

So, I am inviting you all now, before I think that I am the most horrible "Rachel" ever. The show runs the first two weekends of May. You can reserve tickets right here!

P.S. My most sincere apologies to anyone that might have thought "good news" meant GOOD NEWS. I promise that a pregnant post will come only after the appropriate parties have been notified. It was kind of cute that Ben couldn't wait for me to post the play news myself. :)

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So I'm sitting here working on our site re-design and I get a text from Rusty with some very cool/good news. I'm pretty psyched, but I'll let her tell you all about it when she gets home ;)

Sorry to tease you :)

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After another amazing maternity-shopping day, I had my first read-through for my very next show. I get to play the "town floozy." (the director's words, not mine.) I have the pleasure of working with several people that I have worked with in my short, but illustrious theatre career. HI JIM, KASMIRA, & TOM!

The rehearsal tonight felt good, with lots of hugs and how-ya-doin's. So far, at the end of Act I, I have one line: something about pickled apricots. I guess when you're a floozy, who needs words, eh?

Plan on coming out to see this one. It's going to be quite the spectacle with at least a billion actors involved! Watch this space for more information!

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Ah, it's that time again. That time when I look at old(ish) code and designs and decide that I could do much better. If you're trying to do the math, yes, this site has only been live for 13 months. That means I'm pushing a quarterly re-design, on average. I'm sorry, I just can't help it. Personal projects like these are always sort of a testing ground to try out new things.

Geeks take note: The biggest reason for the re-design (the most rational one, anyway) is to take advantage of object-oriented programming. I'm going to re-code the site using object-oriented PHP instead of the procedural variety.

So I also can't help re-designing - I'm doing that too :) Keep an eye out for it within the next few weeks.

Cheers!

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I started my day early, as I usually do on Thursdays. I opened my store at the bright and shiny hour of 5:30 am. I worked for a few hours, and then escaped! I ate an orange in the car on the way to Lou's. Then the good stuff began.

We went to her Baby Doctor Appointment!

It was amazing, really. We got to hear the heartbeat, so fast. I got a bit teary, but so did she. (I know, I always get teary...) She is working through a midwife program at the suggestion of her neighbor, and what a great program! Even the air in the office was somehow more calm and peaceful. I'm sure am getting the inside scoop for the future.

I am not going to get all mushy, as I am apt to do. I am just going to state, for the record, that I feel totally honored and blessed to be involved with this whole thing. What a wild story to add to the collection. :)

Next, we went down to ole' Kentucky to go maternity clothes shopping. I love the Gap Clearance Warehouse. Lissa got some jeans and a few shirts. She looks so cute in her elastic waistband pants and flowy tops. I got two pairs of jeans (non-maternity, thanks.) Ben got four GAP polo shirts. (for $10!) I also love picking out my husbands clothes. He looks good in green.

Finally, to round out the day, Lissa and I made a trip to the grocery store, made cupcakes, and read through lots of baby-related information. Whew! There is so much info, and I know we're only at the tip of the iceberg. I can't wait to get real words of wisdom from all the moms in our lives.

And now I'm home and sleepy and ready to snuggle. Let's hope one Benjamin P. Lacy is willing to oblige. If he isn't, I know a couple of puppies that will be. :)

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... it was warm and sunny for a little while. All the snow has melted!

... I only wanted to eat oranges, so I ate 2 of them.

... I played a 12 minute game of Sudoku. Consider me addicted.

... I was in my fuzzy robe and slippers by 6:30 pm. Though I may get dressed again to go to the store. I have AMAZING coupons.

... my entire house smells like fermenting beer. Thanks boys. Next time, can you stink up Jason's house?

... Ben destroyed my computer. It can no longer spell. (Actually, that was yesterday. He probably shouldn't be left home alone anymore.)

*sigh* What a Monday.

:)

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Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes. 31 was not nearly as traumatic as 30 was. I hope I can say the same when the year is over and done.

As Ben and I have given up restaurants for lent, we did not eat out. We had cake and ice cream at Casa de Lou's, and watched the Purdue-IU basketball game. The game was lame; the cake made up for it.

Good news: I got the part in the play I auditioned for. I even get lines! Stay tuned for more info.

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The first weekend of the show went well: I did not forget my lines. I made all my entrances on time. I made it out on stage without any awkward costume malfunctions.

We only have two more performances left! Time has flown by. It amazes me how much more the cast bonds when they are stuck backstage together for 2+ hours.

I posted this picture, taken during a rehearsal, because it makes me laugh. Beth is making a funny face, (which she does often,) and the set hasn't yet been painted. The living room is reminiscent of the Canadian countryside, circa 1945. (ie. leftover from our last show!)
For those of you that have made it out, THANK YOU! For those of you that are coming out this weekend, SEE YOU SOON!

I have said over and over that I am taking time off after this play, but I think I may have changed my mind. I am auditioning for a small part with a larger company tomorrow. If I am cast, I probably won't even have any lines, but it's a period piece, so I'm sure to have an awesome costume!

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A Florida man caught a fireball on video in early January. The amusing thing about this video is that it solidifies how people have a great fear of the unknown: included in the video are audio snippets of people calling 911 to report something falling from the sky. Also included are allusions to the movie "Armageddon", which also made me snicker.

Anyway, enough ranting. If you mute the sound, it's an amazing video that shows an extremely rare occurrence. Fireballs are so named because they are meteors bright enough to outshine Venus in the night sky. This one in particular, might be one of the brightest ever caught on tape. It must be pretty amazing to see one so bright before it's even dark out.

Check it out: Fireball over Florida

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It's been a while since I've had a portfolio site up and running, a little over a year I think. Well, I'm happy to announce that I've just launched my new portfolio/blog at www.benlacy.net!

What does this new site mean for you? Well, if you're not a geek, it means that any posts you see from me on this site will be much less geeky, or at least I hope ;) If you are a geek, this means you can now expect 100% geekery from me over on my new site. Exactly what you wanted, right?

I won't keep you any longer...head on over and check it out!

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Apple's been on quite a releasing kick recently: we've gotten new Mac Pros, the MacBook Air, 32GB iPod Touches, and the 16GB iPhone. I'm predicting right now that they're going to release a super-slim 30" iMac as the next big thing. Just wait. It will happen.

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Dear Lou,

I am sorry that my initial reaction to your magical announcement was not one of unrestrained joy. Please forgive me for my fleeting negative focus. I wish that your baby brings everyone that it touches nothing but hope and peace. As the weeks have gone by, I have been filled with so many emotions, both joyous and sorrowful. There are so many questions that only sweet time can answer. Know that I love you, and that my heart is filled with overwhelming love for The Bean before I even hear it's heartbeat. I am honored and proud to be a part of such a powerful beginning. Anything and everything I can provide, I do willingly and with love.

Always,

Cola

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What have I been up to? Where's my head at? Hmm.... How do I even begin?

Things at work have been pretty intense over the last few weeks. You may have heard about our new/old CEO. I won't bore you with the details, but changes are brewing all the way down the line. Everyone in the company is looking forward to the passion that the new/old guy brings to the table. I feel like we're all getting ready for Grandma to visit: lots of preparation, but with excited anticipation.

Also on the work front, I've been showing houses for Lissa's company. They compensate me well, but more than that, I feel like I'm really doing something productive with my time. I get a rush when I take an application and a thrill when that application is approved! Sometimes, the potential tenants are frustrating; sometimes, they stand me up or LIE. All in all, the experience has been very rewarding.

Outside of work, I am wrapping up my latest theatre adventure. I am doing another show for Stagecrafters, "Killjoy." We open next Thursday. As we started rehearsal in December, I feel like I've been working on this show forever. The people in it have been professional and crazy, like all good theatre folk. I can't wait for next week!

In between all of these big commitments, I still try to find time to fit in movie nights and lunch dates. Ben and I started a new "us" in The Sims, and we're trying to decide what to give up for Lent. I vote for eating out. We both eat out alot for lunch these days. If anybody has any better ideas, let me know!

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I just finished a website last week that was quite unique. I got hooked up with somebody through work last weekend that had a website in need of some very quick updates. The site is http://www.forourschools.org, a place to learn about issues affecting education and our children, and how you can help come election time. This year, Issue 10 is the big one around here, and they needed some updates to reflect this. The existing site wasn't bad, but definitely needed some polish.

We had the day off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so I set out to completely finish the site in one day. When it was all said and done, I had spent a mere seven hours designing, developing, and deploying the website. Several days later I added functionality so that users could donate to the campaign via PayPal. I'd like to thank Jan and Lynn for their responsiveness when dealing with my questions, and I wish them all the best in their campaign. (At some point I'm also going to be building them some back-end administration tools so they can update the site themselves.)

Enjoy [http://www.forourschools.org]

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Cloverfield has been one of the most hyped movies in some time. Last summer, a teaser trailer played before Transformers that left many wondering what the movie was about. It soon came out that it was a monster movie. The movie had a very creative viral marketing scheme, and this of course built the hype to enormous levels.

The big question when something is hyped as much as Cloverfield was (and still is), is does it live up to the hype? I must say that it definitely does. Jason and I went and saw it on the second night of showing, and it was quite an experience. Experience is an important word, because that's precisely what it is. It is unlike any movie you've seen. Some people immediately screamed "It's Godzilla meets Blair Witch!" Well, yes, it has elements in common with those movies. It's a monster movie. And it was supposedly filmed with a handycam. But that's where the similarities end. This movie has a point; Blair Witch was a pointless waste of time. It was not even remotely scary, because there was no payoff.

Back to the experience. It was totally immersive. The initial attack by the monster was pretty creepy - they did a good job building up to it. It should also be noted that the monster was not the focal point of the movie. It really only had about six or seven minutes of screen time. The rest concentrated on the small group of friends trying to get out of NYC alive. It's one helluva ride, and a movie that everybody should see once. Due to the uniqueness, it's not something you'd want to see multiple times, because you know how it's going to pan out. By the way, Jason, apparently we should've stayed until the end of the credits (possible spoilers).

I highly highly highly recommend going and seeing it. And soon.

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So I've been busy recently, and I apologize to all my rabid fans out there for not posting in a while. Just kidding, you're not rabid :) I'm hopefully going to be launching no fewer than three new websites pretty darn soon, and I'm super-excited.

First up is Concordia Lutheran Church & School. The church where Rusty and I got married is in need of a new web presence, and work is nearly complete. I'm hoping the site will be live in a couple weeks or so.

Next is BeAVendor.com - a site for Jason and James' place of employment, which is heavily e-commerce based. That is also nearly finished and will be launching soon.

Next, we have a super-awesome project some guys at work and I are putting together called Grubly. It's a social networking site to find, rate and review Cincinnati restaurants. It's still in the planning stage, so it'll be a little while before it's done - but it'll be worth the wait.

Finally, I'm also almost finished with my own portfolio website, which is waaaaay overdue. The pic above is a little sneak-peek of the visual design of the site.

Whew. So yeah, I've been busy :) Hopefully over the next few weeks you'll be seeing several posts about site launches from me. Until then, take care faithful readers.

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As many of you may know, my mother was born and raised in Chicago, IL. Her mother and most of her family still live in the surrounding area. It only takes five hours to get there, but we don't make it out there often enough. This year was the exception.

Christmas Eve, we were blessed with good weather and light traffic; we made good time. Ben and I had dinner with my Grandmother, Mother and sister. Mom and I went to church while sick Ben went to bed.

*Note: this is the first year EVER that Ben has not spent Christmas Eve at his mother's house. They both handled it very well. :)

Christmas Day, we all drove out to my Aunt Sue's house in Waterman, IL, about an hour outside of Chicago. We ate and drank and in Ben's case, napped. (see above picture) There are no children in the family anymore; the two youngest cousins turned 18 last summer. Becca and Amy haven't been "children" for at least a couple of years now, but this year seemed different somehow.

We had to get on the road early the next day, as Becca had to be back to work. I think they both slept all the way home; Ben was still on cold medicine. I waited until we got home to take some myself. I told him not to breathe on me! :)

The rest of the week has moved by in a blur. Ben had his annual high school reunion and was out later than I would have preferred. Maybe he got me sick on purpose so that I couldn't join him on his outing. Those boys are crazy when they get together. Ben assured me there was no climbing on tables this time.

Next up: New Year's Eve! Chili, Cincinnati style and probably some party games. See you all there!

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Here is a picture of our dinner party guests: the usual suspects, minus James and Becca. *cry*

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I know you are all on pins and needles waiting for a post all about Christmas in the Lacy Homestead, so I will punish you no longer.

We started our holiday surrounded by our loved ones; Lissa and I prepared a French-themed dinner complete with Brie and Chicken Cordon Bleu. We served twice-baked potatoes and green beans, crescent rolls and cookies. I just adore baking. I should do it more often.

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What a crazy week we are in the middle of! Birthdays to celebrate, jigs to dance, and food to cook! Somehow in the midst of it all, I still have to find time to work!

Yesterday, I had a visit from my boss and her boss. (my grand-boss??) The visit went well; I think my staff got more stressed out than I did. They're so cute when they're little.

Today I have a bit more work to do, but mostly I get to make I cookies and look for a party dress! Last year, Ben went with me in my quest for a little black dress. He could smell the Godiva kiosk in the mall and went a bit mad from the deliciousness. I think it's best if he stays away this year. Today is also my momma's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Tomorrow is a no-work day and most likely a continuation of cookies and dress shopping. I have rehearsal at 7. Did I mention I am in another play? It goes up in Feb. More about that another day.

Thursday is a certain husband's birthday. God love Christmas babies! I will say no more about the birthday other than it will be FUN. It's amazing to think we were together for Ben's 23rd. Now THAT was a day that will live in infamy. Talk about spoiled rotten. :)

I have to work on Friday and then come home, take a nap, and get beautiful! Friday is Ben's Christmas Party for work. They're so cute when they put on a tie. We clean up pretty good. Let's hope I can find the perfect dress, maybe NOT black this time.

Saturday is our annual Pre-Christmas dinner. This year, for the first time, Lissa is hosting it in her beautiful home. We are following a French theme. (THIS MEANS BRIE!) As always, bring beverages and a healthy appetite. I love parties. They prove to be a fabulous excuse to get everyone we adore together in the same place.

Sunday is lame. I have to work and do laundry and get ready for our trek in to the wilds of Chicago for Christmas. Ah, the great white north.

That, my friends, is why I should be running instead of sitting in front of my computer. This is the most fun, crazy, beautiful week of the year! If I don't answer my phone this week, please forgive me. I'll make it up to you on Saturday. Yay Food!

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Here's the deal: most consumers buy Windows PCs, because that's what they know, and they're the most widely-available. The end result of that is that most people use Internet Exploder Explorer for their Internet browsing needs. It comes on their computer, it seems to work, why not use it? For most people, it's not a conscious decision. It just happens.

So, given the audience of this blog, I feel it is my duty as a card-carrying member of the International Society of Supergeeks* to inform those of you that use IE that you do have a choice. You have several choices, really.

First off, the best alternative, in my opinion, is Firefox. Out of the box, Firefox is a great, speedy browser, that stays out of your way. It lets you browse the Internet in peace. Firefox also conforms to what are known as Web Standards, which essentially means life is easier for people that design and develop websites (myself included). When you first set Firefox up, it'll ask you if you want it to import passwords, bookmarks, etc...from IE. So that takes care of the biggest barrier for most people. You don't have to re-type all your passwords, or re-bookmark all your "Favorites". This is my official recommended solution :) Go here to learn more and download Firefox.

The next best solution, in my opinion, is Opera. It's another speedy, lightweight browser that will let you browse the Internet in peace. It too can import your data from IE. I don't use it all that often because it doesn't offer as many web development tools as Firefox. But for the average user, it's fantastic. Find out more and download it here.

Next up, is Safari for Windows. Apple's Safari browser is the quickest there is. On Mac OS X, it's the default browser. However, Apple recently released it for Windows, although it's still in the "beta" stage, meaning that it's in the final stages of testing before being dubbed a release (it's completely usable though). Check it out here.

Finally, Netscape's browser is making a comeback of sorts. Back in the early browser wars of the mid '90s, Netscape was king for a while, before Microsoft started releasing IE with Windows. Netscape is back now, though, and while it's essentially just Firefox with a different look, it might be nostalgic for some :) Go here to learn more and download Netscape.

Now, back to Internet Explorer. If you absolutely have to use it, or you just really like it for whatever reason, upgrade to IE7 if you haven't. IE6 is not considered a "modern" browser, and it doesn't have tabbed browsing - which I don't understand how anyone could live without it. IE6 is the most decrepit browser out there, which forces web developers to bend over backwards to get their code to display reasonably well. This is where I could go on a long rant, but I'll abstain from that. Just know that IE6 is the worst as far as web developers are concerned.

If you use Internet Explorer 7, and are happy with it, good for you. It's a step in the right direction :) It's leaps and bounds ahead of IE6, but still not quite up to snuff. Carry on if you must. Just know that making the switch to another browser is not difficult at all, and takes mere minutes.

So, the point here is that you do have a choice. I'm just doing my geekly duty and letting you know. If you want to save your favorite web developer a few gray hairs, make the switch today!

That is all.

*I just made that up.

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In case you missed the world's most horrific costume, here's a great picture by our favorite Ted, Jeff. I can't even make this costume look good. :)

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No doubt everyone out there has an opinion on the Writer's Guild strike that's been going on. It's one of the most ridiculous things to happen in the media in quite some time. And when I say ridiculous, I mean because of the reason that the studio execs gave when defending themselves.

The whole thing started with writers of tv shows, screenplays, and movies getting concerned as to why they weren't receiving more money for their content that was being aired online, or other forms of "new media". They created this content, so naturally they should see a good chunk of money for it. Uh uh, said the studio execs. And here's the best part: when the writers asked their studio execs why they weren't getting more money for content being broadcast online, the snobby, arrogant executives said "because that stuff's just promotional".

What. The. Hell. How do you get off calling a tv show that's being aired online, with commercials (read: the studio is making money off of it), promotional? It's the most ridiculous argument I've ever heard, yet somehow it doesn't surprise me.

The studios seriously need to swallow their pride and give these people the money they deserve. They made the content. Quit being a bunch of a-holes and do it. A lot of people's lives are being hurt as a byproduct of this strike, especially lower-level writers. It's not fair, but the writers are ultimately doing the right thing so they don't get pushed around by the suits anymore.

Come on guys, let's end this thing. I miss my David Letterman night-capper :(

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Thanksgiving Day was great fun. I woke Ben up at 7:50 AM, and we were off! (I love you, puppy!)

We visited with family in Monroe and Middletown, OH. We ate LOTS of food and drank a little wine. I started to poop out about 4, but we kept going until 8-ish. Ben's family is just as lovely as ever. The cousins are all taller; what are they putting in the cafeteria food these days?!

Every time we visit our family, either side really, I always think, "Why don't we do this more often?" I feel so much warmth and kindness and love, and who ever gets enough of those fuzzy things?

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Wow! What a crazy 48 hours it's been!

Our 2nd annual Pre-Thanksgiving dinner went wonderfully. We stuck with last year's Italian theme, starting off with fried ravioli and a tossed salad. The main course consisted of crab & shrimp ravioli with a gorgonzola cream sauce and fettuccine with a chunky, oniony marinara. Of course we had some crusty bread, various wine, and followed it all up with amazing cheesecake (thanks MOM!) and a beautiful tiramisu. (Great job Lissa!)

It never ceases to amaze me how much fun our little dinner parties are and how well the extended "family" gets along. This time around, we had the pleasure of entertaining Lissa's parents, my mother, Ben's parents and brothers, Jason, James, and my favorite 4-year old, CHLOE! (13 peeps, if you're counting.) It was quite the houseful, and boy, did it sound like it! It sounded like everyone had a marvelous time.

Whew! I was going to post a bit about the great day we had today, but I think I am worn out. Check back later; I'll try to gather my strength, or make Ben do it. :)

To see a few more pictures of all of the festivities, including a few from Turkey-Day proper, check out the web album at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rustyjoy

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Some of you may have noticed some rather annoying spam on the blog over the last few weeks. Hopefully you're not in the market for any male enhancement pharmaceuticals, and you didn't click on any of the links ;)

I added some functionality to the blog today to stop the spam from getting posted. Best part of all: you don't have to do anything extra! It all happens magically behind the scenes. Now I just need to wait and see when the next spammer tries to comment, then I'll know it works.

That is all. Carry on.

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This is hilarious. A video over on College Humor spoofing the show 24 if it would have come out in 1994.

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This is Elsie Higgins. Daughter of Grace and sister of Charlie. I'm not sure if she likes War and Peace or not. COME TO THE SHOW AND FIND OUT!

:)

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Anyone that missed our first weekend has two more chances to see Lissa and I make fools out of ourselves! Just kidding. We are fabulous!

The show has been so much fun, and I am so excited that Lou was such a big part of it. I have often said that if Elissa and I met in high school, we would not have been friends. If she had been bitten by the drama bug though, who knows?!

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Just a quick heads up...my domain name registration is coming up for renewal, and I'm switching from the evil GoDaddy.com to Dotster.com for domain names. The site might be down for a couple hours at some point while the changes take effect. Don't panic!

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Time to shut down the rumor mill. Google's "Gphone" has been announced, and it's not a phone. It's software. Essentially it's a mobile operating system, along with a series of applications. It's called Android, and you can read all about it here...

[Where's my Gphone?]

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Okay.. so I'm in this play.

Lissa and I auditioned for a handful of productions before we found a sucker to cast us both. (WE LOVE YOU TOM!)

Then my legs went numb, and the play took on a whole new meaning. Subtext, if you will. Seize the day. Don't let anything keep you from what you hold close to your heart. Etc.

(Have I mentioned how long it's been since I've been in a play?)

The play itself has reminded me about growth. "We all have a little bit of growing to do." Personal growth isn't always easy; they're called growing pains for a reason. Wow. What a timely message.

Going to rehearsal has kept me busy, physically and mentally. I can't say that I've enjoyed every rehearsal, but I can say that I have learned from every rehearsal: It's hard to remember my lines when I'm tired and hungry. My body works better when I stretch it out. It's okay to stretch outside of my comfort zone.

(When did my comfort zone shrink to approximately four inches around my body? Darn those gestures...)

Anyway, come to the play. If you can make it on the 10th, come to the cast party at Sissa'a house after the show. BYOB&F2S (bring your own booze and food to share.)

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Speculation is running rampant around the Google gPhone, and my coworker Steven has predicted that Verizon's F700 will be the phone model of the GPhone. Just for the record, he was the first to predict this. That is all.

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okay... here goes the blog i've been trying to post for about 2 months now.

After going to the Dr. about my numb feet, legs and left arm, I got to experience an MRI for the first time. After the MRI, I was referred to a neurologist. Then I got to undergo another MRI, some blood work, and a chest X-ray. Then I was diagnosed with MS and spiraled into panic mode. Eight weeks and a spinal tap later, I am going to be okay. Granted I still have MS, but I have successfully exited panic mode. I am still working; I am still driving. I am going to do this damn play if it kills me. :)

Good news:
We can still have children; I should even have a pretty normal pregnancy. We've decided to give it a year or two, but we were planning on doing that anyway. Ben isn't even done with school until next summer.

I started my medication about 6 weeks ago. The earlier you start meds, the better.

I'm young. The earlier you catch it, and start meds, the better.

I have an awesome support system. I had to stay in bed for a few days after the spinal tap, and I had lunch delivered every day. We had a few movie watching parties in the guest room, too. Have I mentioned how amazing my husband is? I am blessed to have him in my life.

I have a super-fabulous neurology team. Dr. Reed and his assistant, Rhonda are both MS certified and have been super supportive. I <heart> them.

My medication is injectable, but I have a one-button Auto-Inject: the most amazing piece of plastic I've ever known. I give myself my shots without passing out. I don't see the needle, and it doesn't even hurt too much.
Wow. Lots of good news, and I could go on.

Bad News:
I have MS.
eh. could be worse.

Sometimes, the depression is overwhelming. Sometimes, I get worn out way too early, but if I eat enough and sleep enough, even the bad stuff isn't so bad. I have spent enough time dwelling on the can'ts and nevers. I am putting my faith in God to carry me through this. I know He isn't going to give me anything I can't handle, and that the reasons I am searching for will appear in time.

On a slightly happier note, The Play opens 2 weeks from today! I have a costume so horrid, it's hysterical. That in and of itself should make you all want to come out and see it. Maybe that will give you something more exciting to blog about. :)

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Ok, most of you know that I'm not the biggest TV aficionado, but I watched a couple episodes of "Heroes" on Netflix this weekend, and I think I might be hooked.

The show is ingeniously executed. There are enough unknowns in the show to keep you guessing, and the storylines are fast-paced and exciting. Unlike some other shows I've seen recently, there's a good amount of charcterization, to create that oh-so-desirable "connection" with the audience. In other shows, the number of storylines might be overwhelming, but not here. You get just enough information each time to want more, then all of a sudden you're taken back to another storyline, given a little more information, and so on and so forth.

I don't know how many of you guys out there are fans of the show, but you can count me as one now.

By the way, don't spoil anything in the comments, I'm only three episodes into the first season :)

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It seems as though it's finally happened. Check out this article on Fox News.

Craig Venter, a genetic scientist, has officially created the first artificial life form. Using lab-created chemicals, he created a synthetic chromosome, which effectively changes the makeup of another lifeform's DNA. Using this new DNA, Venter can change one form of life to another.

There are going to be huge debates over this, and expect to hear quite a bit about it over the coming months. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking this is going to be pretty huge. Being able to change one life-form into another is borderline "playing God", and there are going to be a lot of opinions about this.

Kinda cool, kinda scary.

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Man, I'm really hoping this one happens. I watched the Hobbit a whole bunch of times when I was younger (as any good dork would), and often thought about how cool a live-action version would be. Fast-forward more than a decade, and Peter Jackson creates three of the best movies of all time. Not only did he capture the magic of the books, he did it in an epic and extremely grandiose way.

So you can imagine my excitement when I read today that Jackson and New Line Cinema might be talking to each other again (after some squabbling about Jackson not getting enough money, essentially). There's still a good chance that he won't do the movie - but come on, he has to. Nobody else can, seriously.

Most of you won't be quite as geekily (is that even a word? Well it is now :) excited about this as I am, but if he does the movie, it will be amazing.

Here's to hoping.

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As promised, you can now enter your e-mail to have your Gravatar show up next to your comments! If you don't have a Gravatar account, just go the site and sign up: http://www.gravatar.com. All you do is create an account and assign an image to your e-mail account. When you come back to our site, enter your e-mail address while you're filling out the comment form, and WHAMMO! You've got an avatar next to your comment. You'll have to enter your e-mail whenever you comment, but it's much easier than having you create an account with us.

Also, when you have a Gravatar, there are many other sites out there that support them. All you do is enter the e-mail associated with your Gravatar account and off you go.

Pretty easy, huh? So what are you waiting for? Go! Get an account, we'll still be here when you get back :)

UPDATE: So the Gravatars seem to be loading rather slowly, and sometimes not at all. I don't know if their site is just generally this slow or what, but hopefully it'll speed up :)

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Confused by the title? Of course you are, unless you're fortunate enough to have found this wonderful website.

TED, like everything else in the technology world, is an acronym. It stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design". It's a conference that's held every year in Monterey California where some of the world's greatest minds get together to discuss a wide array of issues, ranging from the environment, to modern technology, to philosophy, and much more.

The website is basically a showcase for the event every year, but they also have videos of different speeches from the event available to watch. All of them are extremely enlightening and enthralling.

If you're interested in the big picture of the world, I highly recommend spending some time on the site and gaining some new insights and perspectives about the world around you.

Cheers,
Ben

P.S. Yes, yes, yes, I realize I'm playing the dork card again. From now on, it's probably safe to assume that most of my posts will be dorky :)

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I'm always looking for ways to spice up the blog around here, so I've got a question for all of our loyal readers (all 12 of you :) Should I add site functionality so that when you post a comment a picture shows up next to your comment?

For those that are unfamiliar, an "avatar" is just an image that you use to represent yourself on a site, or anywhere for that matter. I think it'd be cool, but if nobody else is into it, I don't want to be the only one on the site with a picture.

Let me know what you guys think, I may have some free time to do it this weekend!

Cheers,
Ben

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It's been a long time since we've posted. We know and we're very sorry about that. :) As most as of you know, we've had a lot going on in various departments...work, medical, etc.

So, I'd just like to let everyone know we're still here and we're doing ok. I would also like to mention a film (or series of films, rather) that Rusty and I have been watching over the last month or so in our spare time.

This is going to bring out the dork in me, but it's also going to bring out the human in me. The series is called Planet Earth. It's a documentary series produced by the BBC, and narrated by David Attenborough (a familiar name to some). It is one of the most amazing documentaries I have ever seen. The production cost $25 million, which is huge for a nature documentary. The series takes the viewer to all the ends of the earth to show us just how amazing our planet is: from the swamps, to the deserts, to the insides of massive caves, and beyond. Revolutionary camera technology allowed the film crew to capture amazing footage of several things which human eyes have never seen - such as the insides of certain caves, the hunting patterns and strategies of hyenas, and much more.

The point of this documentary is to show us just how amazing this big rock we live on is. Towards the end, the focus shifts to conservation. For some this is a touchy subject. I personally care deeply about the health of our planet, and don't want to see it wasted over the next hundred years. We have to remember that we live on a planet of finite resources. I won't go on a tirade about how we're destroying the planet, but it needs to be ingrained into the mind of every person on this planet if we want to make a difference.

I highly recommend the series to anybody, anywhere. 5 out of 5 stars, two thumbs up, etc. You owe it to yourself.

***

On a lighter note, last week Jason, Matt and I attended the greatest live concert I've ever seen in my life. Yes, it was Rush. I won't bore you with the details, but I've seen a lot of shows in my life, and this 3+ hour show took the number one spot.

That is all for now.

Cheers,
Ben

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So, last weekend was the Dayton Air Show, and it was amazing as always. It was probably my tenth or so air show (can you confirm Dad? :), and it didn't disappoint. Jason, John, Matt, Dan, Mom and I had a chalet package that my Mom won through a contest. Basically, we had second row seats to the whole thing, as well as free food, drink, and air conditioning.

I don't know how many of you have been to an air show before, but they are always quite enthralling. The pilots gets to show off what they and their aircraft can do, and it's always one hell of as how. Unfortunately, one pilot lost his life this year when he couldn't pull his plane out of a dive, and it collided with the ground. Jim LeRoy died on the way to the hospital after being airlifted out of the crash site. In a very brave act, his two partners continued their demonstration the next day, when we were at the show, memorializing their fallen comrade.

Some of the highlights of the show for me were the B-1 bombers flying over, the Brazilian Smoke Squadron's sky-writing, and the Thunderbirds insane demonstration, where they cross in front of each other just a few meters away.

All in all, it was a fantastic show, and I look forward to going again next year!

Check out the pictures from the show here.

Cheers,
Ben

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Lissa and I auditioned with a local community theatre group here in Cincinnati about two weeks ago. They had a VERY small turnout for the auditions. We got to read opposite eachother and had TONS of fun. (the most fun audition ever, I think.) The two directors we read for seem like very cool guys, both a bit older, with some experience in the Cincinnati scene.

I was cast for both shows; Lissa was cast in one of the two. The first show, that we are both in, is by one of my favorite playwrites. It goes up in Nov. The second show is a silly play full up of murder plots and family fun. (lots of kissing, but none by me. *whew*) It goes up in Feb. This means I will have done TWO shows before my birthday. Somehow this is very important. I knew 30 was going to be a very good year.

So, I have a fall show and a winter show. I may hold off on auditioning for a spring show until it gets closer to spring. There are a few other companies I'm looking at that have interesting seasons lined up. I'll have two shows on my resume by then. That must carry some sort of street cred, right?

I know I haven't given you dates and times for performances yet. I'm not sure why. It took me a week to actually make this post about the successful audition. I think I may still be in shock. I promise I will give you all of the details when I'm good and ready. (Have I mentioned it's been eleven years since I last took the stage?)

p.s. This will be Lissa's FIRST show ever! Please honor her request, and wait until at least the second performance before showering her with roses. :) LOVE YOU LOU!

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Meal planning has worked out pretty darn well for us the past couple of weeks, with only a few exceptions: company and assorted illness.

My super sister came out to stay with us last weekend. She was a great help; I had lots of fun while she was here. However she is scared of couscous, so we went out to Don Pablos instead. Every once in a while, I have to have their chips and salsa: nothing else will do. Yum!

Over the weekend, I came down with a case of numb feet. It would be funny if not so annoying. The fact that I have tingling down my legs has been very distracting; I am having trouble balancing, and walking is a chore. Ben has been wonderful about catering to me the past few days, including fixing meals and ordering pizza. I have every intention of planning away again very soon. (I have been to the doctor and have an MRI scheduled.)

So, stay tuned. I'm sure Ben will keep you entertained with lots of useless dork-info. He's pretty good at that. :)

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Oh my god. This is definitely the craziest thing I've seen in a while. A WWII-era plane had to make an emergency landing on a busy Wisconsin highway, and it was all caught on tape by police cameras. I'm not sure what the plane is (Dad, maybe you can elaborate?), but that's not what I would want to see in front of me on the highway.

I also couldn't find much more info on what exactly happened, but I'm sure something will turn up at some point.

Check out the video below.

UPDATE: So I just realized that this video is loading reaaaaallly slow. Just give it a second and it will load. I'm not too familiar with the site it came from, but it's not as fast as some of its competitors. *cough*YouTube*cough*

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Well, our first week of menu planning went quite well, if I do say so myself. I'm not sure what Ben ate on "leftover night," and I choose not to ask. The other meals worked out wonderfully, including our salmon dinner. Lissa and Jason joined us for that one. Jason joined us for fried egg sandwiches. Why are fried egg sandwiches so good?

For our next week of meals, we are sticking to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. (no fish, but including dairy and eggs.) Ben is taking a turn cooking, and we have no plan for a "leftover night." I know you are all waiting on pins and needles, so here you go:

Mon: Grape and Walnut Salad.
Tues: Veggie Lo mein (Ben is attempting this one)
Wed: Fetticini Alfredo
Thurs: "Ckn" Carnitas
Fri: Couscous and Asparagus
Sat: Stuffed Pablano Peppers *new*
Sun: Eggplant Parmigiana

As always, feel free to leave suggestions, and let us know if you want to come to dinner!

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So this will be an experiment. I was reading the other day about how to liven up your blog, and it suggested posting top 10 lists and getting your readers' feedback, as well as their own lists. Sounds fun to me.

For this first installment, I thought I'd write up a list of my top 10 favorite movies of all time. Of course, you needn't feel any pressure to post your own list, I just thought this would be a fun little blogging exercise :) Also note that these are just my personal favorites, not necessarily what I think are the best movies of all time (that's a much more objective list).

So, without further ado, I give you my top 10 favorite movies of all time:

10. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. Big Fish
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
7. Good Will Hunting
6. Finding Nemo
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
4. The Big Lebowski
3. American Beauty
2. Apollo 13
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (the 4 hour 10 min. version)

Ok, I know some of you are going to agree with some of these, and some are going to crack inevitable jokes (I'm looking at you John :), so bring it on!

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So I know everybody's just been hanging onto the edge of their seats since I posted about redesigning the site. Well, here it is! The point of the redesign was to cut down on overall file size of the pages, and organize the information in a more user-friendly manner. You many notice a few things have been moved around, but don't worry, all your old comments and posts are still here.

Oh, before I forget, anyone out there that's using Internet Explorer 6 (hopefully nobody :) may notice that the image at the top of the page is all funkdified. Classic case of IE not playing nice with others. But I digress. You guys will have to let me know what you think, and enjoy the new site!

Cheers,
Ben

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In an effort to eat a more well-balanced diet, and to keep Ben from regularly eating ice cream for dinner, we are adopting a weekly menu-planning system.

We dug through magazines and cookbooks yesterday with the intent of introducing one new meal a week. We compromised, (no tomatoes, potatoes, ranch, sour cream, or broccoli) and discussed our options. Ideally, I would like to get away from convenience foods like "Burgers" and "Nuggets". We'll take it one week at a time and see what happens.

And now, I am proud to introduce, our first official menu plan!

Mon: Grape/Walnut Salad and Bread
Tues: Fried Egg Sandwiches and Strawberries
Wed: Pasta with Onions and Peppers
Thurs: "Chicken" Salad Sandwiches and Celery/Carrots
Fri: Leftovers (Ben has to do this himself!)
Sat: Salmon and Asparagus in parchment *new*
Sun: Veggie Burgers and Corn

Sounds yummy, doesn't it?

If anybody has any ideas or suggestions, or might want to join us, leave us a comment. *wiggle*

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I feel some pressure to post about our Saturday Night Chicken Dinner. I think all of you that have checked your computer for this post, should comment now.

The dinner was one of the largest we've hosted: eleven people showed up. Only Becca, the working girl, and Tim, the PA-Dad were missing. We missed them, but had a good time anyway. :P

The menu consisted of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, corn on the cob, biscuits and gravy. We had a lovely fruit and cheese tray as an appetizer. Lissa whipped up some fruit dip that was to die for. We had lemon bars and rice krispies on crack for dessert. The food was all amazing. Lissa's biscuits tasted really good, even if they were a little short. We had every burner on the stove, the microwave, and electric skillet and the oven going, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. This was about the time that everyone showed up. :)

Thanks to everyone for all their help, the wine, and the frying pans. Can't wait for the next one! (around Thanksgiving..? J/K.)

Oh! and it was Lissa's Dad's birthday, too! He's in the picture with his tasty dinner. Happy Birthday Marv!

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Hysterical.

Just watch it. Comment if you understand. :)

*more dancing*

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Guess what Lis did tonight?

Lis auditioned for a little community theatre, just because she had never auditioned for community theatre before. She was great! I can't wait to see if she makes call backs.

*dance*

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Just a quick heads-up everybody. I'm going to be giving the site a bit of a design refresh over the next few days, so the next time you come back to the site, it might look a bit different :) Don't worry though, no old posts or comments are going to be lost, I'm just changing the look of the site to make it easier to use and quicker to load.

Cheers!

Ben

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Jason runs on Jason-time. You have to know this about him. It's not bad; it's just part of what makes him so loverly. This being said, I have never known Jason-time to be early!

When Jason arrived for his SURPRISE birthday party, I was still in dirty, painty clothes and had just taken his cake out of the oven. It was still unclothed. (the cake, not me) Ben and Lissa had yet to arrive, and I needed a shower, desperately. I guess this is what we get for our attempted sneakiness.

Everyone soon showed up however, and we had a delightful time complete with cheese sticks and chocolate cake! (See the pic for the clothed cake) I love my friends. :)

Have a good time in Vegas, Jason! Don't do anything I wouldn't do! See you soon!

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Some of you may or may not have heard of this, but Microsoft made a pretty big announcement at the All Things D tech/geek conference.

Normally Steve Jobs and the folks over at Apple come up with the most creative and innovative ideas in computing, but this time, Microsoft has actually come up with a concept that definitely looks like something out of a science fiction movie. What is this marvel or modern technology, you ask? It's called Surface. Hit this link to learn more about Surface and watch some amazing videos showcasing possible uses for this technology.

Essentially, Surface is a touch-screen based computer interface. What does this mean? Well, essentially it's a computer without a mouse or keyboard, and everything is operated by touching things and moving things around with your hands. My personal favorite is the video that shows a group of people at a restaurant "dragging" menu items onto their credit cards to add them to their bill. Definitely check out the videos on Microsoft's site, and see what the future of computing may quite possibly look like. Oh, and these will available commercially before the end of this year. For $10,000. Ouch.

Anyway, I promised myself I wouldn't make too many geeky posts, but this is biiiiiiiiig news in the tech world, and I just had to post about it.

Cheers!

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This week was a crazy one.

I had an all-day meeting in Lexington. Ben had to play golf. But the very best part of it all: Lou and I took the girls to Coney Island!

As one might guess, the little one is the daredevil. We had fun at the pool, and we rode a bunch of rides. I only wish we had time for a nap, or that I were a few years younger. Those spinny rides take it all out of me.

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I have started on a grand adventure called gardening! Well, not so much gardening, as putting things in dirt to see if they grow.

I've got a few pepper plants: green bell, red bell, and jalapeños. I've planted a few flowers and a few herbs. We'll see what works. Check out the photo album for more fun pictures. (picasaweb.google.com/rustyjoy)

Thanks Lou, for all your suggestions and advice. You're so much better at this than I am. :)

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Lou's b-day was Friday. Woo-Hoo!

We had big plans for the Taste of Cincinnati, but the event didn't actually start until Saturday. 'doh! We went to Shadowbox Cabaret with a select handful of friends and had a fabulous time.

We're still going to hit up The Taste on Monday. Yay Memorial day! I'll post more then. :)

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Much to my surprise and utter delight, Mom and Becca joined us for Mother's Day lunch in Middletown.

Becca was her usual chipper self, and it was awesome to have the two families together again. There is something special about our families, and I do mean "Special."

Love you guys.

:)

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Last weekend Ben and I spent lots of time with the family. We hung out with the Lacy clan in Monroe on Saturday and spent time in Middletown on Sunday for Mother's Day.

As you can see, Ben and his brothers don't get to spend enough time together. Cute, aren't they?

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This is what happens when I have nothing better to do than take pictures. We have WAY too many pictures of Ben and his dog. :)

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Check out our new web album.

picasaweb.google.com/rustyjoy

Good Times were had by all. :)

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There are few things that make me as happy as this beautiful 4-year old.

Chloe is Lou's niece. She is a lifetime member of the Rusty Fan Club, and I am a founding member of the Chloe Fan Club. I had just moved to Ohio when she was born. She soon learned to love me. I love that she screams my name every time she sees me. Pure heaven.

She turned four yesterday, and this evening, the major members of the above mentioned Chloe Fan Club gathered to eat birthday cake in her honor. It was the most rocking party I've been to in the last six months, at least. :)

Happy Birthday Chloe. I am honored to be a part of your life. Thank you thank you thank you.

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This is Jazmin. She makes me smile almost as much as Chloe does.

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So I thought I'd shared some of my insider secrets with everybody out there that has/wants Microsoft Office. I've been using a suite of programs called OpenOffice recently for all office-like tasks.

Essentially, OpenOffice is almost the exact same set of programs as Microsoft Office, but they're free. That's right, free. Why have you not heard of them you ask? Well, the people that make OpenOffice don't make profits from the software, so they can't afford a lot of marketing. They choose to spend their time making the software the best it can be.

So, if you don't feel like spending $300 on the Microsoft version, you can get almost the same thing for free. For what it's worth, the software is developed by the good open-source community over at Sun Microsystems, developers of the Java language.

That's my plug for OpenOffice. Go to their website and download the software here:

www.openoffice.org

That's all for now.

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I've got the RSS feed working for the site, finally :) You may notice the new button over to the left there, if you want the RSS feed that'd be a great place to go ;)

If anybody that subscribes to the feed notices any funky behavior or errors, let me know and I'll check 'em out.

Ciao

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Alas, due to illness and work, our regularly scheduled dinner party was postponed.

Lou and Cola were sick; Jason and James had to work. Italian night has been pushed back to next week. It gives us all something to look forward to, really. I didn't feel like eating much this week anyway.

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Since there are so many of you out there just sitting in front of your computer refreshing our blog to see a new post from me *wink*, I thought I'd give everyone a bit of an update on what's going on in my life.

Busy wouldn't even begin to describe my typical week as of late. I've got a couple big freelance projects I'm working on right now, and one of them (for the church we got married in ), is going to be a huge project. It's going to be lots and lots and lots of programming (in PHP and MySQL, for those who are curious). Also, I'm finally re-designing my personal portfolio site, previously www.benjaminlacy.com, now www.benlacy.net. Check it out if you want, but there's nothing there yet :) It's definitely going to be my best site yet, but then I say that about every site until it's been live for 10 minutes, then I want to completely redo it.

In other news, the greatest band ever, Rush, has a new album coming out on May 1st, and a world tour soon to follow. Jason and I will be there with bells on. The last time Rush toured was three years ago for their 30th Anniversary, and Rusty went with me. 3 and a half hours of nothing but Rush...it was amazing. Just ask Rusty, she'll tell you how much she loved it.

I know everyone's been dying to know what I've been reading lately too. Aside from the monthly subscriptions to Discover and Modern Drummer, I've recently re-read the Stand by Stephen King, just finished Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and am now starting on a book called a Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin, which is supposedly some of the best modern fantasy in existence. If you didn't know I was a dork before, now you have some pretty solid proof.

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure I'll have some more stuff to ramble about soon...

Ciao

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We look alike, no?

Thanks to my Aunt Gayle for this neat-o picture. Becca was a beautiful bridesmaid. Can't wait to see her again someday. :P

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Who is more worn out in this picture? It sure takes a lot of energy waiting for midnight and the chocolate bunnies that accompany it. :)

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Lovely ladies. I am so lucky to have these two great ladies in my life. I am also lucky that Ben has these two ladies in his life. Where would we be with our our spectacular mothers. :) Love you both!

p.s. Muffin is in the bottom right corner of the picture. Good puppy.

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Another week, another great meal.

We took a suggestion from our old pal James and decided to recreate an old time steakhouse! Everything from peanuts to baked potatoes to iceberg-lettuce salad. And the bread... I love bread. Lissa make some slightly sweet yeast rolls. They were beautiful and tasty. Oh yeah. The meat-eaters had Guinness-marinated sirloin. We had Black Forest Cupcakes after midnight. Happy Easter! Lent is over!

We had a few special guests at this dinner party. Both Moms came in for the festivities. Ben's mom brought her teeny little dog, Muffin. Pictures will follow. We had a delightful time. Nothing makes food taste better than good company, and did we have some awesome company. :)

Thanks to our stunning Moms for the chocolate bunnies. I missed you chocolate.

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This is Molly. Wish her a happy birthday.

Oh, and don't forget to wish Matt a happy birthday as well. He's a little older than Molly-cat, but still as spry as ever.

WE LOVE YOU MATT!!!

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A face only a crazy person could love.

Love you, baby!

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And now the moment you've all been waiting for!

For dessert we had a sugar-free, strawberry-rhubarb pie. I had never had rhubarb, and finding the celery-like vegetable was the most difficult part of the entire day! Great job goes out to Lou for her beautiful lattice top. So pretty and delicious too!

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I took a bunch of pictures of Olive in an attempt to show off her new haircut. This one doesn't really accomplish the end I was hoping for, but it sure is cute. She loves her daddy!

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Well guys, if you were not at our house last night, then you missed it... and it may never happen again.

In celebration of the beautiful weather we have been having as of late, Lou and I prepared a dinner around a strawberry theme. We started with a strawberry spinach salad, topped with a fabulous balsamic poppy seed dressing. For our main course, we broiled up tuna steaks with a beautiful strawberry salsa, and as a veggie side, we feasted on sugar snap peas with shallots and thyme. Lou baked up some yummy popovers that turned out quite scrumptious. If fact EVERYTHING turned out perfectly! It was an amazing evening.

Just wait until we tell you about dessert. Stay tuned... I promise I will post again soon.

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For a little after dinner entertainment, Jason and I decided to shave Olive. Her winter coat is starting to fall out and her beard has grown back in.

Jason was a dear and held her while I used the clippers on her coat. The trim didn't take too long; We didn't trim her too short. She looks more like a Jack Russel now.

After her haircut, I gave her a bath. After her bath she ran into the office and promptly peed on Jason's shoes. She only looks like a new dog.

Sorry Jason! Olive still loves you!

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I had some mixed feelings on tonight's meal.

Lissa decided on veal for the meat eaters of the group. We usually have a meat-based entré and lots of veggie-friendly stuff. She created a masterpiece of ham and cheese-stuffed veal. Jason loved it! I'm not a fan of the idea of veal, so I think that may have colored my opinion of the main course. :)

We started with a nice baked brie with raspberries, followed by a simple side salad. I made asparagus with ginger and cashews. We finished up with a sugar-free, chocolate raspberry puff pastry. It was SO good, I felt like I was cheating on my Lenten resolution.

While shopping for our dinner, Lou and I found a great Chilean wine: Gatonegro. It set us back about $3.00 and Lou got a bit of a buzz! Good wine. 4 stars.

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It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I am posting today. Yesterday, our youngest cat Calypso, known to most as Calli, passed away in the afternoon. She was just a little over one year old.

Calli was rescued from an abandoned litter of kittens in September of 2005. The six kittens were found by our friends Jason and Drew in an abandoned house, and they had been deprived of food and water. The kittens seemed to have gotten into some bug spray while in the house. Most of them had already passed on when they were found. I believe one survived for a few months but Calli was considered the only "real" survivor.

When we met Calli, we offered to take her in and give her a good home and the love that she deserved. After becoming acquainted with the rest of our pets, she became good friends and playmates (with most of them :) She enjoyed a good young kitten life and was quite crazy for the first several months :).

When she was 7 or 8 months old, she began having some problems with her eyes. When we took her to the vet, he said it looked she had gotten a scratch on her eye from playing with the other cats. He gave us some drops to put in her eyes and sent us on our way. We gave her the drops three times a day, as recommended by the vet, and the irritation and goopiness seemed to go away. Over the next several weeks, however, the eye problems starting coming and going again. We started using the drops again, and they seemed to do the trick.

Over the last couple of months, she started becoming very lethargic and just hanging out in the basement. Her eyes seemed alright, but she was becoming lazier.

Over the last couple of days, we noticed that she didn't seem to be eating much or drinking. Thursday night we tried to manually feed her, but she showed no interest. On Friday afternoon Rusty arranged an appointment with the vet. When she got home from work, she went into the room to check on her, and she had already passed.

Calli was very close to us, and we had so much fun with her in her short time. We've been feeling kind of guilty about her passing, but we realized that she was just sick and was born under terrible circumstances. She just wasn't meant to live a long life. Although her passing was extremely sad and hard to deal with, we feel better knowing that she's no longer in pain.

We love you Calli, and we'll miss you dearly.

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I don't like the word "DIET". It makes me think of starvation and hunger pains. My doctor has told me that I don't need to "diet." My best friends and best family have told me I don't need to "diet." I don't like starvation and hunger pains.

However, my fabulous mother-in-law has introduced me to the wonderful Bob Greene. He is Oprah's diet guru, and his new book just makes sense. My challenge is not to cut out food, but to ADD it. Phase one of the plan is to eat 4 to 5 times a day! That's been rough. I have had to plan meals and snacks, eat in the car, and eat when Ben isn't. (I know, that sounds odd, but sometimes he isn't hungry..!)

Ben and I have also added consistent vitamins and Omega -3 oil into the plan. I have bumped up my physical activity and increased my whole-grain intake. Overall I feel better physically but the best news is that my mood has been better. I believe that all of the above mentioned factors have added to my lack of melancholy, including my Lenten restriction of no sweets. Wow! PMS was easy this month!

Oh, one more note: if you have a Trader Joe's grocery near you, GO! Kind of like a small Whole Foods, but not as pricey. Love it Love it Love it....

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Man, if I had the time to play around with Photoshop as much I want to, I might be able to do something like this. But this guy did this "painting" in 4 hours, and of course the video's time-lapsed.

I was a bit of an artist growing up, but that kind of fell by the wayside with all the drumming and college. Since becoming a web designer I've picked up the art stuff a little bit, but I would really like to have the time to do something like this.

Enjoy...(by the way, the guy he's drawing is Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead).

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Last night's theme was Gourmet Grilled Cheese. What's better than bread and cheese, really?

We had 3 choices of bread, 3 choices of cheese, turkey, sautéed mushrooms and onions. Lissa grilled them up while I made a yummy fruit salad. I whipped up some sweet potato chips and sweet potato fries. Chips take FOREVER, fyi. The bad news is we didn't take pictures. The good news is there are fruit salad leftovers. Yay breakfast!

We played a rockin game of Life. James won. Go figure. He was a rock star that got his big break. Ben ended up with a car full of kids. Ha!

I think we have to take a break next week. I have a crazy work schedule and Jason and James will be out of town. :( Poor Ben. Pasta Roni for him.

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and she is in love with our Olive. This picture makes it look the other way around, but we know the truth. Molly is secretly loving their cuddle session.

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Ben picked the menu for this weeks dinner party. Salmon with leeks, tomatoes and white wine, wasabi deviled eggs and a nice tossed salad. We served the fish over brown rice. Overall, it was delightful, but when we make it again, I will bump up the thyme topping the fish.

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Yummy... and the salmon was good too.

:)

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Elissa-lou and I decided that we needed to expand our cooking horizons and that we should subject our closest friends and loved ones to our experiments. Maybe this has something to do with being married or domestic or something, but the Peanut Gallery offered up no objections. (eating something besides Pasta Roni? How will Ben handle it?!)

Now every week we gather up recipes from across the World Wide Web, and various other resources, and cook up some magic in the kitchen. Sometimes we have a theme; sometimes we don't. We usually have wine, except on Breakfast Night. (don't ask about the biscuits.) Once in a while the boys even offer to cook!

Jason, our dearest friend and usher at our wedding, took charge during Pizza Night. Lissa helped with the crust. Boy, does she know how to use a bread machine!
This past Saturday night was Ben's turn to cook. (EEK!) He picked some delicious dishes out of my new Moosewood cookbook (highly recommended for both vegetarians and non-veggies alike); He compiled a shopping list and went to the store. He came home and then I cooked dinner! To be fair, I shooed him out of the kitchen about 15 minutes into the grand adventure. The recipes were easy to follow, and most of the time the shopping is the hardest part anyway. Good Job Baby!
At any rate, I bet you are just dying to see pictures of the delish fish, but I can't figure out how to post them. HA! At least we remembered to take pictures this time. Maybe my cooking-shy husband will post them at a later date. Just another reason to check back.

love,
rusty

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Well, it has taken me a few days, but I think I may be over turning 30. It was a long, tiring week for reasons other than the big 3-0, but the number didn't help.

Ben surprised me with a dinner party at Bravo; our mothers and a couple of dear friends attended. We ate food worthy of Fat Tuesday indulgence, topped off with multiple desserts. Ah, I love chocolate. Thank you for all the warm wishes and wonderful presents. I look forward to putting the cookbooks to good use, and I know that you look forward to it as well. :)

As many of you have pointed out, 30 is not old. I am in a good place in my life with a fantastic husband and many, many pets. We have a nice house, and I have a good job. I am very blessed. With all that I have accomplished in the past 30 years, the next 30 look to be amazing.

Stay tuned for cookbook adventures....

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So back in high school I was in a band called Modern Conflict. We played a bunch of originals and some covers by Rush, Tool, Black Sabbath, etc... There was also another band at our school called Vice. Our bands played together in the Bogart's High School Band Challenge our junior and senior years, with Modern Conflict making it to the second to last round while Vice kicked our asses and came in 4th overall.

Vice has since become Swim, then July for Kings (recording a major label record for MCA records), and now they perform and record under the name "Joe Hedges". Joe and the band are in the processing of recording a new record, titled "Curvature" which is due out sometime soon (spring I believe). Three of the songs are up on the band's Myspace page, and they've got a really cool video for their song "Mitral Valve Prolapse" there too, which I've put on this page.

So basically, I'm just really happy for Joe and the rest of the band, and wanted to give 'em a shout here on our site. Enjoy!

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I've probably seen one too many videos on YouTube over the last year or so. For those that are unfamiliar, YouTube is a video sharing site that was recently bought by Google which allows users to upload and share videos. Google has recently come under fire for essentially allowing copyrighted video to appear on the site, which has caused my favorite video ever (a skit from Conan O'Brien where Harry Shearer and Dan Castellaneta from the Simpsons do a bunch of the Simpsons voices) to be removed :(

On the plus side, though, there are still some damn funny videos on YouTube, including this one of a dog trying to bite his own leg off while he tries to scratch behind his ear.

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For my first post....

:)

The question was asked, "What were the pictures hanging from your flowers?"

I had two small pictures hanging from my bouquet, one of my little brother, Brian and the other of my mother's father.
Brian died when we were both children from a congenital heart problem; My grandfather died later the same year. The pictures were intended to be a small memorial. I know they were both there at the wedding, with or without the pictures.

I will make an attempt to post the pictures here, ASAP. I may need help finding them on Ben's messy computer. :)

Christy, I didn't mean to make you cry, but I'm glad you were there to understand. It's amazing to think about how many people were at the wedding that did.

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This first post is going to be a long one, so bear with me. What you're looking at right now, is indeed our new website. Much overdue, I know; but as they say, "good things come to those who wait". I like to use that one anytime it takes me an obscenely long time to finish a website :)

The first thing most of you are going to want t