generation GAP

I got a message from Jon on Friday.....the subject was generation gap.
I seriously wasn't ready for what was inside-


Honey- Today each of my classes had to turn in the first part of a business plan. The plan included a cover page and my instructions told them to list all the contact information for the company including a fax number.

In all 3 classes different students asked....
"Hey Mr. N, what does a fax number look like? Is it just like a phone number?"

In the first class the kid who asked was an ESL kid, so I figured maybe he was just confused. But the next 2 classes were kids who were born here and have no language issues. They really didn't get it- like maybe a fax number was some special code or something.

Really??? You don't know what a FAX is??
Hilarious.


No honey- not hilarious. DEPRESSING.
We are getting old......how is it possible that something in our own lifetime arrived and is almost obsolete???

STOP the Insanity!!

Have a great week- whether you're faxing or not.

Oy-

Does anyone know the cure for procrastination??

I have the worst case....and a list of at least 4567 things that needed to be done yesterday.

Thus the reason that I'm blogging at 1:31am when I should be-

*reconciling a report for work that I should have finished on Thursday
*signing Cooper up for spring baseball league
*writing performance appraisals for my direct reports at work
*cleaning out closets in our upstairs guest rooms
*putting away the 5 loads of laundry that are washed and folded
*submitting my receipts for my flexible spending account
*setting myself up for automatic payment so my phone doesn't get turned off again because I forgot to pay the bill (grrrr)
*going to bed and getting some sleep so I can function in life tomorrow
*ordering a present for a friend who had a new baby
*mailing a Christmas present for my niece Katie
*changing my sheets
*reading Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of my textbook in the class that I signed up for in a moment of sheer genius

The list goes on.....and on...

I have however watched all the Desperate Housewives episodes so I'm up to date, made lasagna so my family can eat this week, baked cookies for Cooper's lunch, thrown away 26 things (2X) that I absolutely didn't need, replanted all of my houseplants (which actually is HUGE and I'm pretty excited about).

Happy Monday!

Crochet Coral Reef

While we were in DC, we took in the Museum of Natural History. If you live close by, run- don't walk to the museum before April 24th.

The Hope Diamond is there- and it's incredible (and in a special setting for a while)




But the thing that left the biggest impression on me was the coral reef- which had been crocheted.



It was breathtaking. From far away it's beautiful but once you get up close and can see the actual handiwork- it's unbelievable. That anyone could crochet a reef....that hundreds of people did it together...it's simply brilliant and quite impactful.

I couldn't tear myself away and I took way too many pictures. I discovered later that there is a Flickr group dedicated to pictures of the reef. Go visit!

The museum description says, "experience this homage to the disappearing wonder, beauty, and diversity of living reefs that are threatened by pollution and global warming".

Part of the reef was healthy....and some was toxic . The very things that threaten its health were used to create this work of art. I didn't notice at first but was blown away and then sad/angry to realize what people do without even thinking and how much of an impact it has.







I simply loved it.



Hope you've been overwhelmed by something beautiful lately too (or inspired to make a difference)!

Weekend in DC

We rarely have holidays that align. Snow days are only for Jon and Cooper. Cooper has student holidays, Jon has teacher workdays and they're always different. My holidays typically match one, but not both of my boys.

But MLK Day is one that finds all of us with some free time.
So we took advantage of a great deal on a hotel, packed up the dog and drove north.



Evidently, there was a reason for the great deal....the Metro station closest to the hotel was closed for repairs. It threw a little kink in getting where we wanted to be, but not so much that we would have changed a thing about our location.

We walked here-


It was Cooper's 1st visit...and Gypsy's too!


The city was oddly empty, which was great for us. It was also freezing, which I could have done without!

We took a drive to see the sights at night-



They're simply awesome.


At the Capitol, we were able to walk right up to the steps.
Steps that were covered with flowers for Representative Gabrielle Giffords.


We had some tough conversations with Cooper- about the shooting, about 9.11, about assassinations. It's hard to balance the facts- taking into consideration that that he's old enough to ask questions and to understand....but little enough to be confused and a bit frightened.

Along with the tough conversations came those that were filled with amazement and wonder. We had a great visit to the Air & Space Museum- snapping this family shot in the reflection of a space shuttle.



Next stop, the Natural History Museum- they had some great hands on activities and the opportunity to see some old friends.





Night at the Museum made Coop a fan of this guy-


We closed out our trip with a visit to Georgetown for a fantastic lunch. The recommendation came from a friend at work and it was delicious. I'd absolutely go back- Cooper declared it the best shrimp he'd ever had.



It was on my top 10 list as well- seriously yummy!


Our lunch was interrupted by a Lamborghini sighting. Not only was one parked outside the restaurant, but another one drove by. Stop the madness!


Two last stops- Georgetown Cupcakes & Gravelly Point Park.

The line for cupcakes was out the door and down the street on our first pass, but when we walked by after lunch it was manageable. I'm SO glad we stopped!



So were Jon and Coop-




We snacked in the parking lot of Gravelly Point Park and watched the planes take off.


We were so close, and watching was fascinating.




We had a wonderful family weekend and headed home feeling more educated, quite relaxed and ready for a 4 day week.

Hope you enjoyed your long weekend too!

Plane by Coop

One of our stops this weekend was Gravelly Point Park which is just outside of Reagan National Airport.

My friend Linda told me about it and we checked it out- twice. We took a trip on Sunday night, and then went back this afternoon. Cooper loved it and was obsessed with taking pictures.

I had my camera on manual settings and didn't pay attention when he asked if he could use it. The result...



I love them- they're bright, free, fun, out of focus and capture perfectly the memory of our visit.

Enjoy!

Why I shouldn't fish.....

for compliments.

This is the conversation that occurred just moments ago in my house.

Me- Hey honey, don't you think I look cute today?
Him- You do! Probably the cutest I've seen you look in a long time.

Long pause.....

Me- Really?? I look the cutest you've seen me look in a LONG TIME???
Him (realizing that perhaps he should re-think his statement)- Well, yeah, you know- since yesterday.

Nice recovery. (she said with sarcasm)
I'm sensing that this may be a loooong 3 day weekend.

Hope you're doing something fun!

Avert Your Eyes

This is what our dog looked like up until yesterday.



This is what she looks like today.



In the wise words from CJ Cregg in Episode 1, Season 1 of The West Wing......"avert your eyes". (I loved that show)

It's a sad day here at casa de Neblett.



Poor dog....she's a really good pup-
At least it will grow!

Dolphin Dip 2011

While we were eating dinner on Thursday night, the subject of swimming in the ocean on New Years Day came up. I'm a bit cautious about ocean swimming in the blazing hot summer, so it NEVER occurred to me to take a dip in the middle of the winter.

But Jon- evidently it's on his bucket list.
It's also never occurred to me to have a bucket list, but that's for another day.

Jon asked the waitress whether there was a Polar Plunge type event and she laughed and said, "we call it the Dolphin Dip and it's a HUGE deal".

Can you tell where we're heading??

We made a quick trip to obtain the proper attire for the dip- stopping of course for a photo op that couldn't be passed up.


Cooper added some extra drama for good measure-


Fast forward to New Years Day- 1.1.11

The boys were ready (yes, Jon was a little more ready than Coop) and I nearly choked when I saw the muscle shirt....but they did say "come in costume".



And so, we arrived-



We weren't sure what to expect...


There were families in costumes,


kids dressed for the occasion,


dogs named Roscoe,


acrobats,


and more acrobats,


guys who hadn't stopped celebrating from the night before....


even a sword yielding belly dancer.


Yup, you can do it all at the Dolphin Dip!




Before long, there were thousands of people on the beach....and it was almost time.


They were off!!


At this point I started to panic a bit...although I could see Jon, I couldn't find Cooper.

I shouldn't have worried- he and Jon had the best time. The Star News Online did an article about the event and Jon and Cooper are in picture #23. They're on the far left side of the shot.

I started breathing again when I saw them coming out of the water-


I couldn't get towels on them fast enough!



I think 2011 is going to be a good year- these guys do too!


I am so proud of my boys- so brave, so spontaneous, so much fun!



Love you both!!

2011

We're back from a quick trip to the beach....and after I finish unpacking, I cannot wait to post about the 1st family adventure of 2011.

Hope you had a Happy New Year!!