The Art of Giving Thanks

Cook a 30lb Turkey with a secret blend of herbs, spices and other secret things.

Invite dozen's of people over to the feast.

Encourage the photographing and then consumption of huge quantities of seasonal desserts.

Provide a safe (and sound-proofed) environment for the playing of games.

And finish it all off with a sneaky nap.

One of my favorite things...

Craig Loves Frogs
Originally uploaded by UlloaSullivan.

... is to cradle a small frog in my hand and sing songs to it and listen closely as it harmonizes with me. If you collect several you can create a little frog choir. I do it all the time. it's soothing to me and to them. I am known among frog circles as 'The Frog Whisperer'.

So you see I'm totally not scared to pick them up and hold them. I just pretend to be for the attention that it garners.

And, also, I didn't hold a frog today because my Mum is here to protect me if anything were to go wrong. Any such rumors are malicious and blatantly inaccurate.

That she was stood just outside camera shot ready to help if anything were to go wrong, while accurate, is entirely coincidental.

Happy Birthday Ava

Michelle and Ava
Originally uploaded by UlloaSullivan.

Hope you have a great day - make sure Mum and Dad (and any visiting relatives) spoil you.

Love,
C&M

Hey Meleena!

Guess what?

One of the benefits of being in the UK for a few days is that I can access the BBC iPlayer and download some of the recent tv shows that have been shown over here but haven't yet been shown on BBC America.

Yup. That's right. I currently have sitting on my laptop the latest Dr Who episode - The Waters of Mars.

Who's the best Nino now, huh? :)

I would imagine I'll be seeing you over the weekend at some point...

JLO! Polo!

I wasn't there myself, but I'm told by reliable sources that the Central Valley Championship Final match between Dinuba and Hanford last night was a nail-biter that went into overtime, saw Justin scoring dozens of goals (possibly an exaggeration), but which ultimately ended with Hanford taking the lead and winning the match 14-11.

By all accounts our nephew and the team did themselves proud with their performance. And I'm proud to be able report that right here for the global UlloaSullivan audience to read about.

More details on the match can be found here. If I find some pictures of the actual match I'll post them also...

Turducken - A ClariBlogPostification

Meleena (not) in the Dog House
Originally uploaded by UlloaSullivan.

Lest this turn into a full blown international incident I figured I should spend a few moments to clarify my position on the Turducken incident from this past weekend.

Of course I knew that Meleena didn't really mean that she thought my Mother was like a Turkey stuffed with a Duck that is stuffed with a Chicken. That would just be plain ridiculous. She is, of course, much more like a Swan stuffed with an Eagle stuffed with a dozen Lovebirds. A Sweaglelove, if you will. Or perhaps a Swaglebird.

In any case, please be assured that no one took offence. It was all just some harmless fun. And it is reassuring to know that Meleena was so anxious to ensure that no harm had been done by her spontaneous comments that she contacted my Mum directly via email and IM, blogged about it on her site and even went to great lengths to turn her friends Kayla and Ronni against me.

So Meleena - you're certainly not in the doghouse as far as I'm concerned. And please just let K & R know that if they want to meet my Mum and Dad (and hear them talk in their fancy British accents) over Thanksgiving they'll have to be friends with me again. :)

Love you!

When to say "No" to a Goodbye Kiss

As much as it pains me to say it, I think I should have held fast and resorted to a simple kiss on the cheek - like I'd been routinely handing out over the past week while M has been wrestling with her cold - when saying goodbye at the airport on Sunday. It can be the only reasonable explanation for why I'm now struggling with a cold of my very own here in London.

No, I'm not being a baby about it. I'm powering through. I'm taking Airborne. I'm wearing a warm jacket. I'm fueling my body with Pret-a-Manger and Capuccinos. I'm getting on with my life.

I just wanted to let you all know that that is what I'm doing.

Happy Birthday Neil

Happy Birthday Neil
Originally uploaded by UlloaSullivan.

Hope you have a great day tomorrow!

Much love,
C & M

P.S. Remember - Cambridge Azur 540D Version 2. Sorry I couldn't navigate through Oxford to pick it up for you myself!

Turducken or not Turducken? That is the question

We visited with Meleena last night and heard the usual updates about the happenings of David Tennant and how, at the beginning of the preview for Hamlet his hair looks particularly awesome. Somehow we then ended up in a conversation about Turducken.

Meleena insisted that it was a Turkey stuffed inside a Turkey stuffed inside a Turkey. I informed her that in fact it was actually Chicken stuffed inside a Duck stuffed inside a Turkey - hence the name Tur (Turkey) Duck (er, Duck) En (Chicken). Of course, as is the wont of many a teenager, she wasn't convinced by what an adult was telling her and so here's a link to the official definition as maintained by that bastion of all human knowledge, Wikipedia. And in case there were still some errant confusion, here is a simple pictogram that should clarify things nicely.

Meleena - Contrary to your further comments last night, you will note that nowhere in the official definition does it mention my mother as either resembling or being a Turducken.

Another Milestone Is Looming

Previously, you've been witness to the will-he-or-won't-he drama associated with besting my record of the most posts in a given month. It's always a tough time for me because, as a risk-taker by nature, I always want to raise the stakes and challenge myself to bigger and better things. At the same time, I am also super conscious of my responsibility to entertain you with high-quality, insightful and informative musings on life. As those of you in the business software development industry will know, quantity is the enemy of quality. And the two of them together with the third factor - resources - make an immutable triangle that represent the dynamics the wrestle with on a daily basis.

Anyway, I digress...

So, I noticed this evening that I am 10 posts shy of beating the all time record of 165 posts in a single calendar year. And I still have 7 or so weeks before the end of 2009 and all manner of exciting activities will be happening between now and New Years Eve that should make it a cinch to both extend the quantity line, maintain the quality line and, according the rules of the aforementioned triangle, come into a large sum of money. Maybe.

Also, I've just realized that I must have entered a typo when searching for an image to use in this post.