Vintage Photos

I have been using Adobe Lightroom to go through some of our old photos. I had started out just improving some of the faded colors, but then I found it much more fun to get creative with them. Learning to work with the digital media after the photo has been taken is nearly as fun as taking the photo in the first place.

A Few Old Clips

These are older and Jeffrey's changed even since here, but I thought I'd post them anyway.


He still plays this game, apparently he forgets once he sees a binky that he's already got one in his mouth. We were watching The Office on DVD (that's Pam you can hear in the background).


We borrowed this from a friend and he loves to push it around, but gets mad when it won't go through the wall. He also does his turbo crawl at the end. It's so funny to watch him, he goes as fast as he can and makes the loudest noise. He hasn't learned stealthy crawling yet.

One year ago (I looked back on my blog) I was fat and miserable and hoping that my baby would come before his May 9th due date. My mom was here and doing a good job of keeping me distracted.

Family Photo

I took Tricia and Jeffrey with me for a drive to find a place to take some fun photographs. While taking a few snaps of this lake we decided to have an impromptu family photo shoot.

On a Walk

On a walk with Jeffrey I took this photo from a small bridge in our town. Now that Spring is in full swing the greens are coming out.

EyeFetch Blog

I have a new blog on EyeFetch.com where I will be posting some of my artistic photos and writing about what I discover about photography. Go to macneil.eyefetch.com to see my first entry.

Yay!

Last night was a late night. It just couldn't be helped, I got home from dance with Jeffrey at about 6:00 and Cory had an appointment for home teaching at 7:00 (they live 20-25 minutes away) and his partner couldn't go, so I went and took Jeffrey with us. The family we were visiting are Jeffrey's Thursday babysitters and the kids all love him (Jeffrey is more popular than we are!). We got home from their house at about 8:00 and still needed to have dinner. (We aren't ones for eating at a set time, I was never raised with a set 6:00 pm dinner time --dad was always home at different times each night-- and it's carried over into my grown up life too!)

So when we finally were getting ready for bed, Jeffers was still wide awake and bubbly. It was so funny, I don't remember how it started, but he started clapping his hands. I laughed and told Cory that he'd never done it before. So we both started saying "Yay" and clapping our hands too which only made him more excited and less sleepy than before. Even when he was finally in bed he kept clapping his hands and grinning, so proud of himself. I wanted to blog it so I had a record of it myself.

Spagetti Dinner

Tricia Typing: We've tried to let Jeffrey eat more meals with us lately (he hates baby food dinners or meats) and it's not always a neat and tidy as us serving him, but it does make for lots of cute pictures. He really likes pasta and will eat that over most other things (though cheerie-os are still a main staple). He didn't get my insatiable desire for potatoes, he only tolerates mashed potatoes and they aren't as easy to eat.

Pizza Night

Our traditional pizza night is a great relief from at least one dinner each week in which we can quickly prepare a meal that we know we will enjoy and use the saved time on each other. Digorno cheese and peperoni is great with a sprinkle of parmasean cheese and a lick of ranch dressing. The salad on the side paints the plate and tricks us into thinking this might actually be a healthy meal.

As the spring shows his shiny face longer and longer the smoothie maker finds its way out of the cupboard more often.

Jeffrey Playing Again! and Reenlistment!

We got this toy for Jeffrey a while ago. We played with it forever showing him how to put the toys in the hole at the top and that it would come out at the bottom. Cory posted a while ago about how he finally learned to do it himself but I thought I'd share a video of it. He usually likes to stick his arm in and push the button that makes the noise before he actually puts the balls in. Silly kid!

Cory reenlisted last week (there was a post on that as well). Cory's so funny about ceremonies and presentations and whatnot. To this day I have yet to actually be to a ceremony or parade with him in it (or not in it for that matter) besides him coming home from Iraq, which was about 10 minutes long. I did go to the SGT Morales induction and they made me go up on stage and stand there like a dork for 10 minutes while they presented a "Certificate of Appreciation" to me.

Anyway, to put it in perspective, there are people who reenlist on a Black Hawk helicopter while it's in the air, there are some who want to wait so that General SoandSo can reenlist them and make a big whoop-di-do about it. Cory is so not that way at all. His reenlistment took place in front of the retention guy's office in the lobby of the building (he called that morning at 10 and said "I'll be home at 10:30 and my reenlistment is at 11:00"). He was sure that no one but me and the officer reenlisting him would be there. But to his surprise a few of his fellow NCO's and the Deputy Commandant of the Academy showed up. I was presented with yet another "Certificate of Appreciation" from the army. Ha. They appreciate me, but that's about it. ;)

Now in other news, does my face look rounder? I feel like it's become rounder and it's slightly disturbing to me.

Lost

Lost: One Brown shoe (right shoe).

Lost between Nuernberg LDS stake center and Nuernberg Zentrum. If found please return to the Bean. His mommy is very distraught over the loss of his shoe!

Last night I had a stake meeting for Primary at the stake center in Nuernberg. I didn't feel like driving down by myself (it's an hour drive) so Cory came and was going to take Jeffrey for a walk. When he got back he realized that Jeffrey had kicked off his shoe somewhere along the way. I was sad. Last year he lost one of his adoreable flipflops and I spent an hour going around looking for it only to find it lost forever. I hope this isn't a trend of his loosing one shoe. I told Jeffrey that his Aunt Paige won't get him presents anymore if he keeps loosing them. So I'll have to go the PX and see if they have brown shoes since he doesn't have anything to wear to church now!

Just Kidding

Tricia wants us to continue with the MacNeil Kitchen blog rather than combining.

Falling Asleep

I set up my tripod in Jeffrey's room so that when he fell asleep I could capture an image of him in the dark. The light in the photo is from the green leaf lights we have hanging in his room.

In the first shot I changed the focus of the lens as I was taking the picture.

Dishes

When I arrived home from work I found a sink full of Jeffrey's bottles in need of washing. It was very relaxing to look out the window over the sink as I worked. Once in a while it is nice to have a simple project to work on that allows your mind to wander.

A New Cousin!

Jeffrey has a brand new cousin (who was born on Uncle Jeff's Birthday). She was born yesterday at 7:03 and weighed 9 lbs and was 21 inches long. They decided to keep her name a secret until she was here (which I think is so much fun! we plan to continue with any future babies we have), but they named her Claire Liliana Brown. She is the cutest little baby ever! (Besides my on of course!)

I wish I could smell her head, new babies have the best smell. I'm so excited for Steve and Sherri and all the hobbits! We'll have to wait to see her until she's already almost a year old, but thankfully they've got a blog too and Sherri updates it regularly. Just had to share the excitement!

Bubbles

Jeffrey had his first experience with bubbles. While at a clothing store we picked up a bottle of bubbles at the counter and tried them out on Jeffrey when returned home. At first he waited for the bubbles to float toward him, but Tricia had to stand up when he began to move toward the wand in order to catch a bubble as soon as it was formed.

Chineese Takeout Date Night

Tricia's new favorite restaraunt is the Chineese joint just outside the gate. Thier take out is in large portions, so we like to have it at home once in a while. We wanted to stay home for date night, and it would help us celebrate my reenlistment today. I have four more years in the Army starting today, but we know that three of them will be in Colorado. That is worth celebrating.

Post Photo Editing

The more I learn about Paint Shop Pro XP, the more I like it. It is known as the poor mans Photo Shop since the cost of that program puts it out of the price range of most novice and ameture photographers. With it I am able to take an ordinary and rather boring photo and turn it into something completely different. The photo at the top was taken in Rothenberg and the edited version at the bottom will be posted on EyeFetch in my artist biography.

Beef and Noodles

This is a favorite stand by recipie for any night that we need a fast meal.

• 1lb ground beef
• Noodles (those in the picture are our new favorites that we found at the German grocery store)
• Shredded cheese
• Corn
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon butter
• 1 can tomatoe sauce

After cooking the beef and noodles combine them in the same pan with corn and tomatoe sauce. Once all is hot add the sugar and butter. Top with cheese.

Pork Chops from the Oven

Pork chops seasoned and marinated in the package make for a quick meal from the oven. Coat the bottom of a glass pan with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I will be moving the food and other blogs back to this one for consolidation.

Kinder Egg Toys

We brough out our kinder egg toy collection to look over tonight. It reminds me of how much chocolate we have had to eat over the last two years in order to build up our collection. We are in the tradition of sharing one chocolate egg between the two of us to celebrate good times, and we take turns opening the yellow container to discover the toy.

Driving the Bus

While Tricia is at dance the Nebeker family from church often watch him. At their home is a toy bus that Jeffrey has shown much interest in. Tricia found the same bus at the PX and decided to buy it. After showing him that it can be pushed back and forth rather than just tossed over I got to see him push it back and forth for the first time. He even made an attempt to push it back to me when I rolled it toward him.

Fort Carson, Colorado March 09

View Larger Map

Our first choice for reenlistment was Hawaii, but since that was not an open option for me we decided to go for our second, which is Fort Carson, Colorado. We had such a great experience the first time we were there that we want to go back. We should be there in March of 2009. The following are some of the reasons we want to go back to Colorado.

• Walmart and Target!
• Chipotle
• Training areas and ranges on post
• Nice facilites on post
• Fort Carson is in Colorado Springs
• The zoo
• Mountains 20 minutes away to the West
• 8 hour drive from friends and family
• Movies that are our choice at our choice of times!
• Network TV (Don't complain until you've had AFN)
• Dancing schools for Tricia
• Cell Phones!
• WENDYS!!

The Tatooed Map

Tricia and I just finished reading "The Tatooed Map" by Barbara Hodgson. This was a book suggested to us by a friend of Tricia from South Carolina. It was our first reading of a graphic novel. I have never read a graphic novel before, though I have heard a lot about them in the last few weeks on the NPR radio program "Books." A graphic novel is a novel that contains visual enhancements for the story. You can read the story without the pictures and other visual aids, but having them integrating into the story makes for a new genre in literature.

This is a good book to read, but you don't have to take our word for it.

My Life as a Soundtrack

I took this from Marianne's Blog...it looked fun...

How it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the "next" button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool!

If my life were a movie this is what the soundtrack would be like:
Opening credits: You'll Never Walk Alone (Jordin Sparks)
Waking Up: Can You Find It (They Might Be Giants)
First Day At School: Dimming of the Day (The Corrs)
Falling In Love: Machine (Josh Grobin)
Fight Song: OK (Young Dubliners)
Breaking Up: Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
Prom: Suil A Buin (Lord of the Dance)
Life's OK: I Won't Say I'm in Love (Cheetah Girls) <--That's for my new beginner dance class.
Mental Breakdown: Brave Man (Rosemary Clooney)
Driving: The Fairy Reel (Danu)
Flashback: Scrub Me Mother With a Boogie Beat (The Andrews Sisters)
Getting Back Together: Gotta Get Thru' This (Daniel Bedingfield)
Wedding: Ti-Pi-Tin (The Andrews Sisters)
Birth of Child: The Mob Song (Beauty and the Beast)
Final Battle: Our Town (James Taylor)
Death Scene: D is for Drums (They Might Be Giants)
Funeral Song: I Feel Pretty (West Side Story)
End Credits: Amsterdam (Coldplay)

There is proof of the randomness of my library that was only a few of my 4,033 songs. ;)

Cotton Candy

During the run event of the APFT this morning I found myself thinking I am doing this for Jeffrey. I am going to run my best for him so that he can be proud of his dad. A few hundred meters later I began thinking that I am not really doing this for Jeffrey at all. It is nice to think of, and a pleasing thought can keep my energy up when I need it, but the hard truth is I am not doing it for him at all. If I went home tonight and did not spend anytime with Jeffrey I might justify it to myself by recalling that I worked very hard and did my very best on the run for him, so I have spent time with him today. Thinking about Jeffrey in this way is like cotton candy. It tastes very good, but has no value for the body.

Going home today and making time to read to him, bathe him, feed him and watch him play with his toys with no distraction is real time with Jeffrey. It is real because he can remember it too. It is real because we are together and I am not just imagining pleseant things. There is a time and a place to think about people to draw close to them in my mind, but it is no replacement for actual contact.

Tired Wiggles

One of the signs of Jeffrey's need of a nap is his wiggles. He of course is always crawling from corner to corner, but when he is tired he prefers to be held. There will be a few moments of cuddling with him, but as he feels his own eyes droop a panic that he might miss out on something colorful, fluffy or noisy comes to his attention. His struggle to stay awake leads him to kick, twist, buckle, stretch, reach, pinch, point, grab, and roll in any direction that might give his body the shock it needs to snap back to wakefulness.

The only counter measure is to hold him down tightly. His momentary yelps and short cries are intended to trick me into thinking that some injustice is being committed and I should be an assistant to his escape. No iron files in his cereal bowl. I know better and hold him down with loving warm tightness until his struggles spend his last strength and his eyes fall shut with a clap.

Adjusting Time

Watching Jeffrey in his room this morning for about an hour I saw him go from toy to toy touching everything that moves, and touching anything that makes a noise at least twice. It is intriguing watching him go through the growing process. I wanted to get some work done with a few of my photographs, but Jeffrey loves to be in the middle of the action, so I have learned to be picky about when I choose to work on certain projects. It is a small adjustment to make, but the benefit is being able to be a part of these memorable times of his life.

Rothenburg Part Two

I guess it's up to me to post the stories of our trip since Cory posts the pictures. Well, we had tried unsuccessfully earlier in the week to travel to Rothenburg for the day. The traffic was horrible and we sat at a standstill for an hour! After that we decided to turn back and go home and try it again on another day. The next day I decided that it would be fun to stay overnight and be able to go on the nightwatchman's tour (which I was looking forward to in December because it was so highly recommended but had to miss due to the pneumonia.) So I spent a few hours online looking up bed and breakfasts and hotels in Rothenburg and found one that was cheap and well located! (Should any of you find yourselves here I'll give you their name.)

Rothenburg is one of the oldest preserved walled cities in Germany (yes part of the wall was destroyed during WWII, but on the whole it was miraculously preserved). It's a medieval town, like the Disney cartoon Robin Hood medieval. The wall goes around and you can see the history everywhere. The church and town hall in the town are both from the 1200's (that's older than most everything in America!) One of the watchman's jokes was that the door was from the 1500's so it was safe to say that it was a 'new' door.

This is the nightwatchman who gives tour every night. He said that when you don't have very much money (like the city of Rothenburg after the war) you have to have a good idea, his good idea was to give tours every night. The night we went there were probably 30-40 people on the tour.

See we're well prepared parents, we forgot Jeffrey's gloves, so I had to put mine on his hands instead. Maybe that's why the ladies on the tour kept calling him a girl. The German people love babies though, the couple running our B&B were so funny, they wanted to talk to Jeffrey more that us. There just aren't very many babies here in Germany and when a cutie like Jeffers comes along they just want to eat him up!

We watched conference last night at home, the satellite at our ward wasn't working, we had the missionary couple from the ward over as well. It was nice to be able to be part of that solemn assembly. We're going to watch the afternoon session in a few minutes.

Rothenberg

We decided to use our weekend to visit the lovely town of Rothenberg. We visited last December when it was cold and the Chirstmas Market was out. We enjoyed the town so much that we had to go back. Tricia found a great B&B for us a great price. In the morning the owner came up to bring us a breakfast of breads, meats, cheeses and jams.

We took the Night Watchmans tour of the city and learned what it would have been like to visit several hundred years ago. The door leading to the garden was put on its hinges in 1515. The eggs decorating the town fountain are real eggs, all blown out and hand painted. The tour guide was pretty funny with his monologue as he took us on his tour. I would go back to see him again.

At Christmas the city was full of people, but during our stay it was very quiet. Jeffrey fell asleep several times as the cobble stones rocked him to sleep in his stroller.

An Hour in Regensburg

I had to go to the Munchen airport to pick up Tucker coming back from ANCOC. After a two hour drive I arrived at the airport only to find that her flight number was not listed as having arrived. I called Tricia and had her check my email. It turns out that the United Airlines shutdown had affected Tucker just before she was to get on the plane and had I checked my email in the morning before I left I would have known that. In order not to waste a trip I stoped in Regensburg on the way home and walked around the city center with my camera I had brought with me. Taking a few photos made the trip worth it.