The Burlingames

I was eating lunch yesterday at the Maplewood Mall thanks to picking up some extra hours at work. They’ve had LCD tv’s in the food court for quite some time, but their content has taken an interesting turn since the last time I was there. They were playing music videos. As I sat down I noticed the current video looked familiar; it was Chem 6a by Switchfoot (circa 1997). It was quite hilarious to see: bowl cuts and bad polo shirts.

After that video I noticed something interesting. I (or anyone else watching) could help choose the upcoming videos via the tv next to the one actually playing the videos. They were using a website’s texting service to choose songs (American Idol-style). The tv on the left showed previews of potential upcoming videos with a text code for each. You could also send a text to find out the current song playing.

It was kind of a neat idea, but at the same time, who cares enough to actually do that. I find myself wondering if this is the way we’re headed given everyone’s (media outlets, social networking sites, blah blah) rush to include interactivity in as many facets of their reach as possible. If so, I will play the “old man” card and say that I don’t care. I just want to eat chinese in the food court.

I can now add fox to the list of creatures I’ve seen by my house. I was just about to turn into the driveway this morning when a rather large fox came out of the woods between my house and the neighbor’s, and then trotted across the street and into the woods on the other side.

I’m hoping, though, that we don’t get the same variety as other places in the metro. A black bear was spotted the other day in Oakdale. I don’t have a garage to put the trash cans into yet.

House – Dave has been very diligent in working on the house. He has gotten a lot of small things and big things done over the last few months. The biggest news is that our bathroom is DONE (with the exception of a few small finishing touches)!!! Charlie (Dave’s dad) came and spent a week with us; he installed the tile in the bathroom and did a BEAUTIFUL job! It took another month to get grout and painting done; once those were done we were able to install our sink. I’ve included pictures in the ‘Our House’ album. We also have an ice cube maker in our freezer that works. I love my ice cube maker!! Dave bought us a dishwasher for $200 on craigslist. The dishwasher is only 4 years old and in great condition. We both love not having to wash all of our dishes. There are doors on the bathroom and upstairs bedrooms. A few weeks ago we bought a shelf and some baskets from Ikea to put in our kitchen. It replaced the black wire shelf that was in the corner, everything looks much nicer and cleaner – just the way we like it. Next weekend, Dave and others will be replacing our stairs. The list is still very long but slowly getting done.

Eli keeps us on our toes. He is such a bundle of energy. There is rarely a time when he just sits and vegges out; he is always on the go. I often get tired just watching him go all the time. For a few weeks he absolutely LOVED reading his books. He would bring a book to us and indicate that he wanted us to read to him. His current favorite toys are his big lego block set. He loves to stack these on top of each other, and then he takes it apart one by one only to stack them up again. Eli is walking and attempting to run everywhere. He is talking a lot more; not a lot of words (that we can understand) but he certainly knows what he is saying. The past week has been a bit rough on Eli. Last week he was diagnosed with a pink eye, Wednesday he was diagnosed with an ear infection and Thursday (after a trip to the ER) we found out he has a viral infection. Hopefully this is the worst of it and from here on out he can kick sickness to the curb.

Dave is still busy working at FedEx and driving the big truck. He recently got done designing a friend’s band’s CD cover. It turned out great! Everyone was really pleased. Recently he returned to his former hobby – interneting!! He is now back in business of buying and selling gear online. He has bought/sold several pedals and his beloved cabinet and amp set. But no worries, the new cab and amp set have been order and will be here soon. J Dave just realized the other day that softball season is just around the corner and he’s excited!!! I’m looking forward to spending the spring/summer watching the games with Eli. I’m sure I’ll do more ‘Eli chasing’ than game watching.

I’m still busy with work. I’m still driving all over the countryside teaching students, but I LOVE it (most days)!! I’ve recently started staying after school 3 days a week to tutor some students and 1 day to teach some staff sign language. It makes my schedule a bit more busy, but I’m enjoying it. I have recently decided to stop selling At Home America. I had an absolute blast selling it but had to stop for various reasons. I will miss the business but I’m looking forward to my small amount of new freedom. As always I’ve been busy crocheting when I can, I’ve gotten several more baby blankets done and always working on more. J In a few weeks I’m going away for a weekend to scrapbook/stamp. I’m really excited about that. I want to get caught up on Eli’s book, possibly make one of the changes to our house and stamp a lot of cards (I don’t have any left).

I have added pictures to various photo albums. Look at the current dates on the albums and enjoy the newest pictures!!

That is the latest with the Burlingame family!

…we had Gator over for the day to play. Eli was watching her walk around all day and apparently decided that it looked easy enough. He stood up and just started walking around the kitchen, went down the hall and back and now he is all over the place. It is so fun to watch him walking around. He is so proud of himself too, he has such a big smile on his face while walking. I think it is safe to say we officially have a toddler in our house!!!