Bye bye Blago

This @#$% thing is %$#@ golden...

Clip it good

I am very proud of myself! I cut the boys' hair myself--and it looks perfect! I have been watching haircutters doing clipper cuts on the boys for years. I initially assumed there was some kind of trick to it, maybe professional quality clippers or some kind of beauty school training. However, after watching closely, I never saw much technique going on. So, I paid $20 for the clippers, and after cutting the boys' hair 1x each, they have paid for themselves.

There was an article in the NYTimes the other day scolding people for baking their own cupcakes and doing their own nails because they were robbing good bakers and aestheticians of their livelihoods. However, I have always baked my own cupcakes, washed my own car, and mostly painted my own toenails. So this is actually the first thing that I have done to adversely affect the economic growth of the country. However, I defend my actions by pointing out that even after two years, we have never really found a place around here to get the boys' haircut that successfully balanced skill and price. (So, hardworking barbers of Normal, if you want my business, stop giving my kids bad haircuts with random wisps of uncut hair, and put those naked lady magazines out of sight!)

Sam after the haircut. No, he's not bald on top--its just the picture. He looks exactly like he does after the barber does a good job. For both boys I used a longer clip on top, so they won't look like beanheads.

Joseph! He is never delighted to get his hair cut, and he sassed me more than he would the barber. Next time, I will provide a handsome bribe for compliance.
Joseph is rather vain about his hair. He feels that his hair looks good when he slicks it forward with his sticky little hands. I keep trying to get him to brush it to the side, but Joseph has some very strong opinions.

Obama dream overshare

Last night I had a dream that Barack Obama was mad at me. In my dream (and actually for real) I was out drinking with my PI and lab mates. When I returned to the lab (in my dream), I was told that Obama was on the phone for me. I was delighted! But when I picked up the phone, he bellowed at me that a humidifier running in the growth chamber sparked a particulate explosion that injured a facilities worker. (Why were these facilities guys in my growth chamber anyway?) I explained that we did not have money to buy a sparkproof system, and Obama grudgingly said that he would earmark some money for that.

Good news and Normal news

Ahhhhh. Much better.
I had a crappy day, but any day without Bush as president is a good day. I listened to the Inaugural address 3x to hear the part where Obama pledged to devote more attention to Science.

By the way, the Pantagraph has kindly summarized the top stupid local news stories for your persusal.

Cold phobic

I have overcome my fear of extreme cold weather. By Friday, ISU was open, and I couldn't stand being cooped up anymore. Sam and I went in to the lab to try to freeze-dry some samples. (Arrggh--the freeze-drier broke! Why does this always happen when I am on a deadline!)

Later I went for a run with Argos. It was @0 degrees, and I wore many layers. Note to self: when running at 0 degrees, never take a break! I stopped for @ 1 minutes to blow my nose and the condensation on my balaklava froze solid! Argos was delighted to be running again, but wearing all those pairs of long underwear and socks made me feel like I was running through molasses.
www.insanecats.com

More snow day

We are all still at home. The temperature never got to 0 today. I think that the high was -5 with a windchill of -33. The kids' schools and ISU were closed. Tonight it is supposed to go down to -22 (with windchill -40).

The news emphatically warns that no one should go outside unless absolutely necessary. This piece of information is eating me alive! All morning I gazed longingly out the window at the perfectly clear blue sky and brilliant white snowdrifts. I can't stand it when someone tells me not to do something--it makes me crazy to do the thing.
Luckily, I got an email from work telling us that even though the university was closed down, we should risk death and come in because we had a job candidate visiting and we really needed to hear his seminar. My reaction to this commandment is (not surprisingly) hell to the no. However, now that I am doing the opposite of what someone wants me to do, I can lie around and enjoy my home incarceration.

I went in to work yesterday while Danny watched the kids, so I watched the kids today. Activities of the day:
The kids and I did a thorough room cleaning.
We freed all of the small toy parts that were trapped in the crack in the play table.
We watched Yo Gabba Gabba. It was the episode about manners--so great!!
I did lots of laundry and cleaned the kitchen walls.
We built waterbugs out of Bionicles. (I answered many questions about water bug copulation and egg-carrying behavior, as well)
I made them open-face cheese melt sandwiches for lunch.
Joseph played with Legos
Sam practiced spelling bee practice words. (Including watching the Futurama song where Bender defines 'irony')
We baked foccacia.
We did yoga, including both real and child-invented poses.

Also, the dog is really disappointed with all of us. He spent a few hours outside, with me peeking out at him every 15 minutes to make sure that we wasn't dead. Every time I looked out, he looked back at me as if I were nuts. He was totally comfortable, sunning himself in a snowdrift and watching the crows. At our usual running time, Argos got all excited and I had to give him a bone to alleviate my guilt.

Snow day

Last night it snowed 6 inches, so today the kids were home from school. Surprisingly, ISU didn't close, so I had to trudge in to campus.

Tomorrow the high temperature is predicted to be 0, so school will be canceled for the kids again. I am really hoping that I don't have to walk to school in sub-0 temperatures with 6 inches of snow.
Argos: the only dog at the dog park. He had a mighty good time running through snowdrifts and trying to track down foxes.

I took off work early to take the kids sledding. It was rather difficult sledding weather: it was so cold that the snow fell as a fine powder that didn't pack well. Joseph got mad and stopped sledding after he slid into the side of a snowdrift.

Video of a little sledding accident

Where is blogboy?

So why hasn't Joseph been keeping up on his blog posts? He tells me that he is too busy doing his nails.