PB and JJ

Believe it or not, the jelly and the jalapeno went well together...sweet and spicy. I couldn't really taste the peanut butter even though it was the perfect jalapeno "adhesive". All in all, it actually was pretty good.

Cubba Momma's Cute

Julia today: "Momma, I want to eat you (up)...cubba you're so cute!"

Aspen...For Cabin

Julia's First Email

At the cabin today Julia hopped on the computer to do some "very important work". She said "I'm on Facebook Momma" and then said "I want to email Umpa and Oma".

For the record book, here's her very first email. She even hit the send button:

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Julia Bear The Mechanic

A few days ago Julia started pretending that she was a bear. At first she tried to scare me with her claws and constant "raaaawrs". Considering she's at that age where she'll play a game for hours and days on end, I told her after a few times that I was really scared of "Julia bear kisses". Well, now the game consists of her stalking me with her claws in the air, growling, and trying to kiss me. Of course, every time she kisses me (head, arm, back, wherever) I grab her and then flail around on the floor with her in my arms. She finds this hilarious, of course. I find it fun because I get free kisses and hugs from her and can usually sneak in a few tickles for good measure.

In related "news", Julia helped me fix my truck this afternoon. While I was changing my oil I discovered that the bracket that holds the tailpipe snug to the underside of my truck was completely rusted out. She helped me fix it with a new part. After I was done replacing the bracket she wanted to continue using the tools (screwdriver, hammer, pliers) on my truck while I went to water the flowers. She's smart and compliant enough to only use the tools on the areas I tell her she can (e.g. the hammer on the tires but not the wheels) - so, I don't worry she's going to hurt anything or herself. I watered the flowers in the front yard and went back to check on her in the garage. Without missing a beat, she looked up and said, "hey man!". That's not exactly the kind of greeting she usually gives me. She's already one of the boys...

I Really Depreciate The Effort

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham

Spurs opened their first Champions League campaign in decades tonight in Germany. In the end, I'm happy with a draw. I would have taken a draw before the game. Although we jumped out to a 2-0 lead and gave up 2 goals on either side of halftime, I think we put in a respectable performance. In 2 weeks time we host FC Twente. Since they and Inter Milan also tied 2-2 today, I think we probably need to win this next one if we want to advance out of the group stage. I'm assuming we'll get 0-1 points against Inter Milan in the next 2 games (home and away) after our match against against FC Twente.

I haven't posted much about the season lately, mainly because I'm still struggling to get into it. The major changes in my life probably didn't help, but it has more to do with the way the league schedule is set up. We played 3 games and then all leagues took 2 weeks off for international play (Euro 2012 qualifying, etc). The weather is still warm and we have another international break coming up the first full week of October too. I was relieved to hear Steven say today that the season doesn't really start for him either until after that break in October - at least I'm not the only one that feels this way.

In reality, this season is all about the Champions League. Even though some of the major candidates for the 4th spot have struggled out of the gate like we have, I don't expect 4th this year. It's pretty clear that we are going to try to compete on both fronts but that we are saving our best players in the rotation for the Champions League. We picked up Rafael Van Der Vaart from Real Madrid at the end of the transfer window - a really good signing for us in my opinion. Due to a recent rash of injuries, I'm glad we also picked up Gallas on a free - even if he played for our arch rivals in the past. Both players are veterans and both have played in a World Cup Final, so you know they are going to bring some positive things to the club even if it's only off the field.

Here's looking forward to the leaves changing color, the weather cooling off, and the season hitting its stride. It's supposed to stay in the mid to low 80s with a few days in the 70s pretty much until the end of the month. Rubbish! I'd take this weather in late January/early February though.

One-Off

Today is my one-month "last day at work anniversary". It's gone fast. I'm beginning to get a sense what retirement would be like...well, except for the whole 2 kids under 3 years of age thing. Speaking of...Julia just woke up from her nap as I sat down to type this post. Seriously, that was great timing. SO, I guess this will have to wait to finish this until after dinner tonight...

Things are going well in the Sudduth household. We've finally gotten past the first few weeks and are "getting into the groove". We've been able to do a lot of things together (see the other posts in this blog) and have a lot of things planned for the coming weeks. I think the first few weeks were always going to be slow - that is, it was always going to take a little bit of time to get adjusted and plan out the coming weeks/months.

Stacey and I have been able to do a lot of talking about our future plans. We've been open minded about pretty much everything - even whether or not this is the place where God wants us to be. Sometimes, having too many options makes things difficult. We can pretty much do what we want, which is a good thing, but sometimes it's better to not have many options. It makes the decisions easier. For right now, we're just kind of "being" and sticking to the original plan of me taking a few months off and then really looking for a job.

Personally, I'm holding up pretty well and enjoying this time. I think once I get started on my last major home improvement project I'll be occupied for awhile. When that's over and it's the dead of winter...that's when I think I'll wish I had somewhere I needed to be. For now we've got plenty of things planned to keep me busy though...

Cuddle Bugs

Goodnight Moon

I'm so glad I had my camera with us last night. I pulled over to the side of the road and took these pictures shortly after leaving my parent's house. Gorgeous. I haven't done any editing to the pictures...and since pictures never quite capture a scene in real life you can imagine how awesome it was to see this.

I took these pictures seconds before the moon disappeared behind Pikes Peak. Click on each one to see more detail. In the first picture you can make out the craters on the moon and the building at the top of the Pikes Peak. The second picture is a nice view of everything: the peak, the moon, and a house with the occupants presumably watching television. The third picture is a nice panorama of the entire scene.

...goodnight room, goodnight moon, goodnight cow jumping over the moon...goodnight little house...goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere. Where are you silly cow?