Another family grows.

Hello folks...it's me, the female half. Tim keeps up with numerous blogs, but no adoption blogs other than ours. He's too busy with his normal pursuits:

-The Drudge Retort
-FARK.com
-Howard Stern
-World Wrestling Entertainment
-UFC

I, on the other hand, am fighting insomnia yet again. So, I call your attention to Double Happiness. Gwen and her parents have just met Maddy. Too cute for words.

Have I mentioned that although he sometimes has questionable taste (see above), Tim is one fantastic husband? Seriously, I am lucky. Sometimes, in the midst of everything, I forget to say it, but honey: you rock.

Oh, and by the way, your taste in women is just fine.

*Pat, Pat, Pat*

That is the sound of me congratulating myself on a job well done. I may not be the most humble guy in the world, some may even go to the extreme of calling me arrogant once in a great while. For evidence of this, please see my lovely "mulekick" post.

Let me set the stage for you. Several months ago Tammy and I talked about what we'd like to do for our birthday and anniversary celebrations, all of which took place this summer. One of our wedding gifts (from 2 years ago) was a lovely picnic basket. Since we had not yet had an opportunity to use it, Tammy said she wanted me to plan and, get this, actually execute a romantic picnic for her birthday gift. Can you believe that?? Geeeesh! The horror of it all!

Look! Up in the Sky! It's a bird, it's a plane. Oh nevermind, it's just a plane.
(Here is where you have conveniently forgotten that I had several months to plan this.)

Back to the story. Well, as you can see, I was certainly under tremendous pressure during the summer. As the days and weeks went by Tammy reminded me often of the looming deadline but I assured her I had it in the bag. Of course, all I had to do was find a unique (to us) picnic spot, plan a delightful menu, and make sure there was perfect picnicing weather. No problem, right? Of course not. Where do you turn to for all the answers: Google!

To make a long story short, here were my solutions to this dramatic picnic crisis.

Location: Boston Harbor Islands. If you live in the Boston area and have never visited these islands then you're missing out on a great resource. We only visited the main island, Georges, but we plan on going back to the other islands for some day hikes. Nice Picnic Spot? CHECK!

Menu: The opening dish consisted of a tomato, basil, and onion salad with toasted pine nuts. The pine nuts were my idea.

This was followed by a unique and as we found out, filling, main dish, the Chicken Picnic Loaf. An assortment of fruit including grapes, strawberries, and kiwi accompanied the sandwich. Rounding out the menu was sparkling cider and brownies. Good Food?? CHECK!!

Picnic Atmosphere: Several things contributed to this, including a view of the Boston Skyline:Picture-perfect weather:
I've got to admit, this one was not all my doing. I've got to thank Mother Nature for looking after one of her own (Tammy, not me).

And finally, a nice picnic blanket (check out Crate and Barrel) to sit on. Nice Picnic Environment??? CHECK!!!

All-in-all, I've got to admit that this was one of my better planned events, with a little luck thrown in. I think Tammy really enjoyed it.

Goodbye old friend, you will be sadly missed.

There are many milestone events in every man's life. One of those is the excruciating task of having to give up his very first car. I'm talking about the car that he bought with his own money from his first real job. The car that was a trusty companion through thick and thin, rain, sleet, smog and fog, better or worse, good times and bad. For me, that car is my glorious 1996 Pontiac Grand Am SE, or more lovingly called, 'The AM'. I can practically hear the virtual "ooohs" and "ahhhs" emanating from everyone reading this, laden with more than a hint of envy. I don't blame you, not...one...little...bit.

I'm convinced 'The AM' was one of the reasons Tammy fell in love with me. I remember the many weekend days early in our relationship we spent drivin' down the highway, lookin' for adventure. Tammy would look over at me with a certain twinkle in her eye and whisper, "I can feel the power of 'The AM'." It was then that I knew 'The AM' and I were on the right track. In fact, Tammy even has her own cute little pet name for it; she jokingly calls it 'The Timebomb'. This, of course, has nothing to do with the slight smell of gas that constantly accompanies it, rather, it is due to its explosive 4-cylinder power.

But now it is time to move on to the next stage in life, namely, parenthood. And with this new stage comes the realization that Tammy's Taylor Hicksmobile, a Subaru Forester, and 'The AM' combined just won't be able to cut it. Plain and simple, we need more cargo room. Though Tammy fought tooth and nail to keep 'The AM', I put my foot down and made the decision to sacrifice it for the greater good.

We went test driving this past weekend, my sights set on a Honda Pilot. Both Tammy and I liked it very much. But then we drove a Honda Odyssey. This is one lovely mini-van folks. The term "cavernous" barely describes the amount of space in it. I left the dealership a little downtrodden. I knew for all practical purposes that we had found our next new vehicle. But I couldn't help but to feel sad knowing that soon 'The AM' and I will have to part and go our own separate ways. I know both Tammy and I will shed more than a single tear when we have to say, "Goodbye old friend, you will be sadly missed."

Give a mule a break.

Hi Folks...Tammy here. Tim is feeling a bit disappointed that he has not had any comments on his initial blogging efforts. I explained to him that LOTS of people read, but don't comment. Nonetheless, I think he is feeling a bit lonely. So, if you do read along, give him a shoutout, even if it's to say you think he might be a jack***.