Who's A Big Girl?

Evie Sue.  That's who.

Monday, today, Evie Sue moves classrooms at her daycare center!  Now, I realize that this isn't graduation from Harvard Law School but, to us, it's a pretty big deal.  She's outgrown her current classroom.  She's the oldest, if not the biggest child, in the class and needs to be moved up to a new room where she can grow socially.  That's crazy, it seems like her 1st day in daycare was just the other day.  I guess this is just how things work. 

Oh, and this morning both Sara and Evie Sue were part of a segment on the morning news program.  The story was on the local MyGym where Sara works and both of the girls could be seen running around on screen.  It was cute.

R & R in the NC

A family vacation?  What's that?

New Bern, N.C, riverfront.

It's been so long since I took some real time off from work I'd forgotten how nice it is to just get away.  This past weekend we drove down to North Carolina, along with Dad, and Reb &; his Cobbs, to spend time at a Cobb family reunion at Emerald Isle.  We all converged on a distant cousin's beach house, visited for awhile, and then headed down to the beach to play in the waves.  Evie Sue was intimidated by the Atlantic but had no problem throwing sand everywhere, and getting herself so sandy that we're still cleaning her off days later.  We also got to show the Button off to her Great Aunt's and Uncle's who had not had the pleasure of meeting her yet.  All in all it was a fun day.

Then, on Sunday, Father's Day, everyone else left the time share unit to return home and it was only us three; Sara, Evie, and me.  We were going to spend a few extra days on our own.  So nice!  (Well, the 1st day was a bit rough.  Evie Sue woke up in the middle of the night vomiting and spent half the day being sick to her stomach before finally just settling into a needy, whiny stupor.  Unfortunately, Evie's ill timed illness interfered with our Father's Day bbq lunch at Wilber's plans.)  The three of us were alone in the townhouse.
 

Early Morning Snuggles

Left to our devices we woke with the baby, spent the mornings at the pool, and then after a late morning/early afternoon nap we would head out to explore nearby towns.  We walked around downtown New Bern, the riverside Union Park, and grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local raw bar one day.  We drove to a roadside bar/attraction the next and sat in the beer garden sampling local beers.  We relaxed, we reveled, and then we returned home on Wednesday afternoon.

Not The Most Productive of Days

So today turned out a little differently than I originally planned.  I took Evie to daycare so that I could get some errands run and spend some downtime maybe reading a book, cleaning the house or any other number of things.  Sara is in NJ for job training.  Anyway, I made an appointment to drop the car off for an oil change at our mechanic.  Stupidly, I answered, "I don't need it right away," to the clerk's question. 

5 and a 1/2 hours later I was walking back along West street in the rain.  Again, in the rain.  It has rained all day long thanks to Tropical Storm Andrea.  Half my day I wasted waiting for the oil to get changed.  All of my plans went down the crapper.

Instead, I headed to Target and bought a $1 poncho.  The thing about $1 ponchos is that they suck!  The hood kept blowing off, water ran off and soaked my jeans and the poncho kept sticking to my wet clothes.  I killed some time in Whole Foods, drinking coffee, charging my phone, and trying to read my book.  I didn't get very far into the book.  I went to Union Jack's British Pub for lunch.  (Actually, that part of the day was pretty good.)  Then I decided to walk, in the rain down West Street, to Davidus Cigars and maybe relax for awhile and smoke a cigar.  As soon as I sat down and lit my stogie the mechanic called to tell me my car would be ready soon.  I played on my smartphone instead of reading, finished my cigar, and watched some Sportscenter.  Then I walked all the way back down West Street - not far in actuality but an immeasurable distance in the rain with a $1 poncho.

After I finally picked up my car I wrestled with traffic to get to daycare and pick up Evie Sue, and then fight the stream of brake lights, and bad drivers to get home.  Now here we are.  I have showered, cooked dinner, and am hoping to get the baby down for bed soon.  I wish my day had gone a little smoother but I guess it could always have been worse.

The rain just kept coming as I spent my day walking up and down West Street.

It's A Bird! It's A Plane!

No, it's a recent rash of Superman sightings in my life!  What?  That's right, suddenly Superman is everywhere!

• I started listening to the audiobook of Book of Lies by Brian Meltzer.  The book connects the story of Caine and Abel to, among other things, the creation of Superman by Jerry Seigel.  The point I am at in the book keeps discussing the 1st appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1 back in 1938.
• I'm getting to know my new Smart Phone.  I've been exploring the I Heart Radio app, and one of my stations randomly cycled through to a song by the rap artists Purple Ribbon All-Stars.  The song was entitled "Kryptonite".
• Another app on my phone plays old time radio broadcasts.  Last night on my after midnight commute I listened to the 1st two episodes of the Superman show!  I was shocked to find Superman stepped out of his spaceship as a fully grown man in the radio show, when every other version I know tells of the Kents finding and raising the little orphan from space.

All signs seem to be pointing me in the direction of the June 14th release of 'Man of Steel'; the latest Superman movie!  Now, admittedly I've been a comic book lover all of my life and although our current finances don't allow me to indulge much at the comic book store I do get excited about the superhero movies and try to see them on the big screen.  (The last movie I believe I saw in the theaters was 'The Avengers' close to a year ago.  I don't get out much either.)

I think that's what the universe is trying to tell me with all of these Superman things popping up in my life.  Maybe  I should go to the movies and support the last son of Krypton!

Or maybe I'll just pop in Kill Bill: PT 2 and watch David Carradine's monologue about Clark Kent Vs Superman.

A Picture Of Me In Metropolis, Illinois 2011.