Afternoon Showers

Things I like: eggs
Things I don't like: messing up my eggs so that the yolk breaks. I take a lot of pride in my ability to prepare eggs. Sometimes it can be crushing to my ego to mess up my flip.

Something else I like: the most awesome cake ever that I made yesterday. It's called Easiest Best Chocolate Mousse Cake. Mmmn...

Note the ingredients:

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate
2 sticks butter
8 eggs


Yeah, you read that correctly.

And I for one have died and gone to heaven. It even partly makes up for my badly fried egg.

September Silences

Babies are sleeping for now, that is except, for Max. Maximilian for the last few days has just slept in snatches prefering instead to practice supermans, arm flapping, and rolypolies. I think he is pretty nice company though, whenever I look at him he grins at me with this huge open mouth, and a look of pure adoration. Who could resist that?

I haven't written anything in so long that every word I write looks funny as if it's misspelled. Eric has been begging me to start up the ole blog again, he thinks I don't hold up my end of the posting. Which is true. Sometimes though its hard to find things that I'd like to write about.

Mmm... I smell coffee brewing in the next room. Paul and Chip, a couple Youth Apostle friends of ours, stopped in to visit a couple weekends ago. They had this one cup coffee maker with them and left it in our care as they won't be needing it in the future. Both of them are becoming consecrated in the fall which is very exciting. And also good for us because the coffee maker brews some damn good coffee and it's fast. A whole lot faster than my trusty french press.

Tuesday was an interesting day. I was having a rough time with the babies, it seemed as if all four had been crying all day. Morale was low. I called Eric in desperation and he came home early from work, we all got in the Cobra and drove to Taos. It was my first time there and I loved it. So charming. We ate at this place called "The Love Apple" which was set in an old adobe church. They had mismatched glassware and flowers and Zucchini picked from their garden decorating the tables. I really enjoyed the setting and the food was fabulous too. All the food is locally grown and raised. They use traditional methods of preparing food (very Weston-Price) and everything was delicious. On our way back we stopped at Taos's natural food store and bought some grass fed beef and a few other tasties. The sun was setting over the Rio Grande gorge as we drove home and no one was crying anymore.

Thanks, Oscar!

Today we woke up to find that our neighbor's cat, Oscar, had given us a gift... a dead bird for our porch! IU knew something was missing out there, I just thought we needed some flowers...

we haven't identified the bird yet, but hope to soon...

Oh, Hail no!

At work today Logan called me on my cell phone. "Is it hailing where you are?" "No" "Well, it's hailing golf balls here." We live about a mile from the Church where I work. "Oh wait Logan, I see one just hit the ground. And another..." in about 2 minutes, it was coming down. Hard. I'd hate to have been stuck out there...

My office is in a building about the size of a double wide. There's the office part, and then the main room with couches, etc. I moved to the main part, and open the front door to watch the hail come down. it started pea size, then got gradually bigger... and bigger... it started ricocheting off the railing of our front step and shooting inside. I decided it would be wise to close the door at this point, no sense in getting unnecessarily bruised! I turned around just in time to see one of our skylights break. glass and hail started falling from the ceiling. There was now a basketball-sized hole in the ceiling, the hail was getting bigger, and the hole in the skylight was getting bigger. If you walked near the skylight, you'd get hit with hail. I played it safe. When it was over, I found some large hail that had fallen in the building. There was one that was literally the size of a golf ball that landed inside, but it split into two and melted before I took pictures.

I ventured outside once the danger had passed. It had been a nice day, but the temps had plummeted with the hail. Now they were back up, mid-80's, and the hail was melting fast. our car was... well, it will start. but the windshield is cracked, with at least 5 or 6 obvious impacts. Time to call our insurance... oh, what fun.




The skylight... note the clouds. The skylight is about 2 feet x 4 feet.
There are two layers to each skylight in the building. The five other skylights were broken on the outer layer, and this was the only one where the hail got all the way through.




found these little guys inside. they had already started to melt. There were bigger ones that fell outside, but these were the biggest I found after I started taking pictures.

Bourbon Milkshake

Milk
Ice Cream
Bourbon

Blend until frothy and delicious.

Tonight, ours was on the thinner side, I'll use less milk next time. When I discover an acceptable ratio, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this nice summer evening, this nice summer evening bourbon delight, sleeping babies, and a wife who'll soon fall asleep with me as we cuddle and watch a movie. Praise God!

but where were the amber seas of grain?

Logan and I took a nice drive with the newest babies down the hill to Española today. On the way down we caught the last gasps of breath of the setting sun, and it was spectacular. It is amazing how the same landscape can have so many different manifestations, depending on light, season, clouds, and whatever else makes this the land of enchantment.

Slot Canyon!!

I went to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument today with some kids from my church. In addition to seeing some pretty sweet rock formations (from the volcanic rock in the area and way-cool erosion), we got to hike through a slot canyon.

They're way cool, but you gotta be wary of the weather... a sudden heavy rain could be deadly.

see that little crack in the rock? It's about 1/3 up from the bottom and 1/3 from the left edge of the photo. That's the slot canyon we hiked through, then hiked up to the top of the mesa, then were greeted with 360 views of NM. You can see some of the formations for which the Nat'l monument is named (they look like tents... or at least upside down ice-cream cones...) The tent rocks were interesting, but it was the slot canyon that stole my heart.

Scrunchy

James has started to make the same face every time he realizes you're taking his picture. He thinks the flash is going to go off, so he scrunchees his face pre-emptively, whether or not you have the flash on.

New Carpet!

Out with the old, in with the new. Logan's pick, but I like it too.

Helena likes to climb

maybe in a few decades, helena

sooooo... funny story. At night, Logan keeps her breast pump at the foot of our bed for easy access. In the morning, Helena and James usually come storming into our room, full of smiles or tears, depending on whether or not James has woken Helena by ripping her hair out (it happens). One recent morning, we were all hanging out in our bed as a family, I had gotten up to do one thing or another, and I notice Helena starting to take off her clothes. This isn't unusual, as she likes to play dress-up, and sometimes plays dress-down. Well, things start to get hilarious, and awkward, as she, naked but for a diaper, picks up the pump cups and holds them up to her own chest, and turns on the pump. Um, yes Helena, that's what they're for. But not for babies, for mommies.

She also loves to hold the babies, though can be a bit distracted. We hold Helena and the help her hold the babies, and while sometimes she stays focused, it's good to have your own arms as a backup when she decides that the bird outside the window is more exciting than her little brother or sister. She's so very... maternal. It's wonderful!

green oatmeal

We're not the type of parents to disguise vegetables in otherwise tasty dishes, because vegetables are tasty by themselves. I mean, you should see our kids eat asparagus.
However, Helena simply will not eat an avocado in any way, shape, or form. even in tasty guacamole dip form, it's a no go. There are two ways we have discovered to have her eat what everyone else in our family fights over. They are to hide the avocado in smoothie or oatmeal form.
This morning we had green oatmeal, and it was tasty! yum yum time at our table, and toddlers asking for more. Helena was so proud and happy to finish her oatmeal this morning... hahaha! the joke's on her!

Christmas in May

When I was little, I could never go to sleep on Christmas Eve, even though I knew that if I did that Christmas would "come sooner." Close your eyes, open them, and voila! Presents!

But I would stay awake and read, or just lay in bed staring at the wall. Right now I feel the same way, but instead of Christmas it's Max coming home from the Hospital. Except while Christmas comes no matter what, we're still not 100% sure Max will be coming home Sunday. He needs to a) pass his car seat test (he's doing that right now... or at least sometime during night shift) and he also needs to b) not have any serious Apnea events, which would mean an automatic longer time in the hospital.

And here I am, up later than I thought I would be, anxious about the wonderful present we will receive into our home tomorrow. At least, that is our hope and prayer, and that Isabelle will follow soon after.

adventures in diaper changing. and barack obama.

Logan and I were visiting Max and Isabelle in the NICU last night, and Isabelle was due up for a diaper change. At least, she smelled like it. When I checked her diaper, there was the tiniest smidgen of a poopy smear, but nothing significant. Oh well, all that stink but no substance, I thought. I wiped her little teeny bottom clean, which must have triggered something inside of her, because that was directly followed by explosive, projectile poo. All over my hand, and my protective yellow hospital gown (for once I was happy to have one), and her bassinet, and the blankets inside her bassinet, and the wires, and the cart the bassinet was on... wowee, you wouldn't think such a small package could have such great range. the girl isn't even 5 lbs yet!

Well, we got cleaned up, and started to head home. it was around midnight. the curious thing was, all the roads on the way to the highway were blocked off by police cars. that's strange, we thought. the first one we thought was an accident, but there were only cop cars. the next three streets as we drove parrallel to the highway also had cops blocking them. finally, we came to a stop as there were cops blocking our street. what was this all about? Oh yeah! Barack Obama was in town! All this hullaballoo was for him as he made his way from Kirtland AFB to wherever it is that presidents sleep in Albuquerque (the presidential suite at the embassy suites?) After a ten minute wait, we saw the President's motorcade, full of motorcycles and police cruisers and decoy limos and... ambulances? huh. traffic soon got underway again, and we finished off our early-interrupted 100 mile drive back to Los Alamos...

she sees flowers where everone else sees weeds

Our backyard has a veritable carpet of dandelions. It's awesome to look out in the early morning and see them all closed up, then to watch as they open with the rise of the sun... from green to gold. i know they're weeds, but they certainly are beautiful weeds. in the meantime, our front yard looks like a jungle as we just haven't had the time, resources, or energy to do anything about it. The lilacs and columbine are blooming, though... and some other trees that i don't know the name for that Logan could tell you. pictures soon, I hope.

Max and Isabelle

For your viewing pleasure, we have some pics from Logan's mom's blackberry. I was silly and in my rush packing everything up before heading down to Albuquerque, I wasn't able to find our camera. it's okay, though... until today the babies had all kinds of breathing tubes and stuff, didn't make for very cute pictures. they are off those machines now, which is great. The tube in Isabelle's nose is her feeding tube. Whatever she can't eat on her own goes down that way... you can also see an IV on her hand.

If you are in the neighborhood, we'll take visitors...

partly cloudy with a chance of baby.

So, I had made a yummy breakfast, slaving over a hot stove (really just stirring their cereal every now and then...) and it was time to eat. James was around, but Helena was not in the kitchen, so I go searching. She's not in the living room, not hiding under the table... the doors to the bathroom, office, and guest room are all closed.

I check our bedroom. No Helena. I check the babies' room. No Helena. Hmm... maybe she was hiding in another room? As I turn to walk back down the hall, I hear a sound from inside the babies' room. Aha! She's hiding! Not many places to hide in there. I check behind the door, no Helena. I hear a small sound again coming from the closet. The closet! of course. The closet door is usually closed, which makes it playtime promised land. all that fun stuff to play with, like outgrown clothes and carseats, which are all about to get some use again very soon.

I curse myself for leaving the door to the closet open, when I realize it's possible they opened it themselves: James can open doors now, after a sustained effort. These are the thoughts going through my head as I navigate across the toy-strewn floor, which are interrupted by Helena making her appearance: not, as I thought, hiding on the floor, but rather flying out of the closet from a few feet off the ground. It was raining babies! Helena landed in a pile of 6 mo. onesies and plastic Easter eggs without a sound, and looked thouroughly shocked. She had been climbing up the boxes of old clothes, and was no worse for the wear, just a little surprised.

What do April Snowstorms bring?

New Mexico weather confuses me...

are you sure you're insured?

Sooooo... funny story, that set me on edge for about 24 hours but has a happy ending:

We recently received our bill for our auto insurance, postmarked 4/10, but due 3/13!!! the next day, we received a notice from the insurance company letting us know that since we hadn't paid our bill, we were no longer covered... gaaah!

Well, after speaking with our agent, it seems there were a number of problems, none of which was our fault (except maybe one). We got our auto insurance before we bought the house, when we lived in our temporary apartment. When we bought our house, we got it insured with the same company. What was supposed to happen was they were supposed to take our new address and change it for our car policy. well... that didn't happen. Our agent tried to call my cell phone when he got the bill returned in the mail, but apparently couldn't get through, or the number was wrong. unfortunately, we never gave him our new home number, which would have solved things. It's very possible that he called while my cell phone was on the fritz, but we'll never know.

Anyway, to make a long story short, our agent assured us we hadn't lost our coverage, he has all the proper phone numbers, and everything is hunky dory. Don't you just love a happy ending?

I'm dreaming of a white Easter...

So, I woke up this morning to find... It was snowing! Holy Cow! This is April, do the NM weather gods know that? This is Easter weekend, do they know THAT? Anyway, the neighborhood birds have been very grateful for our birdfeeders... Juncos, House Finches, Spotted Towhees have all been hanging around the feeders. In our yard this morning we also had at least 8 individual robins, a pair of mourning doves, and two as-yet unidentified birds...

In the meantime, preparations for the resurrection continue. H. and J. enjoy helping me sweep and vacuum, although I doubt you could call it "help."

There is a castle in the backyard...

Little Exhibitionists Pic

little exhibitionists

Today I managed to be home for the latter half of the afternoon, which was fantastic. There were two cute babies running around in their diapers... until Helena loaded hers with pee and it started drooping... then it started dropping... then she cut herself free from the bonds of pampers and ran around butt naked and loving it. Logan and I laughed and laughed, she was just too cute with her little bottom running spastic around the house. Well, James must have been jealous of the attention we gave her, for as I was putting another diaper on the little ball of energy, he came out from around the couch with nothing on but his birthday suit. "hey, look at me! I can be naked and cute too!" then he ran off to the back of the house to attend to important things... like play with blocks.

naked.

Babies are like Goats

Babies are like goats... they'll eat anything. Yesterday Helena and James discovered that the leaves of our ficus come off when you pull on them. In addition to us discovering leaves in various random places throughout our home, the little kiddies tried to eat them. When Helena tried to put a leaf in her mouth, I sternly told her no. She proceeded to try to replace the leaf by holding it up to the plant again, hoping it would somehow reattach...

in other news, it seems that many of our friends are either pregnant now or recently gave birth. Babies are contagious, I guess.

pocket full of memories

Our lilacs are starting to bud, and I can't wait for spring. We keep getting teaser weather followed by gloom and wind. I really want to go outside and work in my garden and am frustrated that instead I'm confined to looking out the window at all the work that needs to be done.

I'm listening to Jason Mraz right now, I have been organizing our CD collection, and found this relic of 2002. I think it's Eric's, which was surprising to me, doesn't really seem like his type of music. I don't even like JM that much, but I do like that he is from Mechanicsvilles and so I feel closer to home listening. Also, I have really funny memories of Elizabeth Sieb when I hear it too. . .

Mary Rothlisberger dropped in on us the other day with her friend Lisa. She called our house phone, and I almost didn't answer because the number looked like a telemarketer's. I'm glad I did answer; there was a girl claiming to be Mary on the line. The only thing was I didn't recognize her voice or believe her at all when she said she was in Los Alamos. I thought it was some crazy person who had stalked us via our blog. It was really funny when we finally figured it all out; we got to catch up for a couple hours before she left as quickly as she had come. Seeing her made my day.

I had a nice weekend with Helena and James, they were in good moods, which was nice considering James has been rather a pill lately. Eric was gone leading a confirmation retreat, but some ladies from church brought some food over and Caryn K. came by and played with H&J saturday afternoon. So the weekend has gone by without a hitch and I'm alright with that.

This is a boring post. But not too much happens when you're in bed all day.

Playground fun

Nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop and an illustrated book about birds...

We have a new bird feeder in our backyard. So far, I've seen at least three different species, although one is unidentifiable as yet. House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and the mystery bird.

We thought we would install the bird feeder after the late finch who died such a tragic death. Hopefully his birdie soul will find peace through our actions... and birdseed. There's plenty to go round.

It is now Spring, and in New Mexico that means wind. Lots and lots and lots of wind. It's kind of miserable, really. Who wants to go outside when it's windy? the cold is tolerable, even in a t-shirt for short trips out to the garbage can. But wind? Bah. I say bring on Summer!

The Cain and Abel of the bird world

One of our finches (Lil Jon) killed the other one (Robin Hood). He had been picking on him (pecking on him?) for quite awhile now. This is the end of six weeks of abuse, during which he had lost most of his feathers and had suffered several bloody attacks. We think they (the two males) were fighting over the female, Beyonce, their sister.

Today, after returning from a trip all around the state, we found poor little Robin Hood mangled but still living, breathing slowly and hiding in the food bowl. His eyes were swollen shut and his face was bloody.

We transferred him to his own box, to try to nurse him back to health. While we were watching him and pondering what we should do, he fluttered his wings one last time, stretched out his legs and died before our eyes. It was a sad moment in our house... you feel bad for the little guy getting picked on. I showed the dead bird to Helena and James, and it is hard to tell what they thought. They acted differently than how they normally react when I show them a bird in my hands, worth two in the bush. They normally are interested and fascinated, and they still were with he dead bird, but in a different way, yet it was clear they had no idea what had actually happened.

Robin Hood is laying in state tonight, and a backyard funeral is planned for tomorrow. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to your local chapter of "STOP Bird-on-Bird Violence NOW!" (SBOBViN)

"Happiness Attracts"

When asked about his strategy for increasing vocations in his new Archdiocese, Soon-to-be-Archbishop of NY Timothy Dolan said "Happiness Attracts." As I read that in the NYT, his words struck a chord in my heart and in my mind. I feel that we are here "Out West" for more than just a few reasons. One of them is to live the life we are called to, and be examples for others. If there is one thing about the way someone lives that is convincing of the fact that the person in question has "got it right," it is their genuine happiness.

pics from fun in the sun

food and sun

I think that if I were rich I would have a personal chef. I like cooking a lot, but somethings I want to eat are beyond me. Not that I couldn't make them I just don't have that kind of energy right now to make gourmet fare everyday and you know-- I really wouldn't mind having savory crepes for lunch everyday followed by dinner of elaborately cooked meats in exceedingly complex rich sauces. I'd really not mind at all.

Yesterday here was pretty lovely, Eric and I hung out on our front steps and watched the babies explore. It was so warm that I was barefoot, and the sun felt so nice. I'm very much ready for spring, actually I'd skip spring and head right to summer. Enough of this cold already bring on the tank tops! Supposedly Springs in New Mexico aren't that pleasant. Capricious weather and extreme winds. I guess I'll always be longing for those idyllic Mary Washington azalea fests in April.

Eric made me delicious pancakes this morning. I can't stand to watch him make them because he never measures things properly, but I must admit his pancakes are always dynamite. He might be the next best thing to a gourmet chef I get so maybe I shouldn't give him such a hard time about how he measures flour.

Vegetable Vaccuum

My daughter's mouth is a veritable vaccuum for all things green. broccoli, asparagus, spinach, peas, kale, chard, if you put it on her plate, she'll suck it right up. it's amazing the speed of her hand from her plate to her mouth when there are anitoxidants to be had.

Free Hugs

H. and J. have learned to hug, and it's adorable. In the kitchen, in my arms at Mass, playing on the floor, it's a hug-fest here out West. Even cuter was the 3yr old that H. made friends with after Mass today, a little boy who loved to hug as much as she did. In addition to hugs, each of our children now can give normal kisses, not those silly open-mouthed slobbery ones they've only been able to give until now.

Out with the old, in with the new (furnace)

The men came by today and installed our new furnace, which is good on many levels. first, the old one was the original furnace, installed improperly by the construction company in such a way that all the furnaces they installed were in constant danger of blowing up. yes, blowing up. we weren't too keen on the fire hazard. (explosion hazard?) also, the old one was really loud, and made many bangs, clangs, and booms, just to keep you guessing when the explosion would happen. also, the blowers didn't circulate the heat very well, and half the house was always 10 degrees colder than the rest. Today, we found out from the manly men who installed our furnace that the weak blowers were a good thing, because they kept the carbon monoxide from circulating, thus keeping us alive.

The new furnace is whisper quiet and heats the house perfectly. yay :)

also, we got pie to go from a local diner to eat for dessert. the bag seemed rather heavy for two slices of pie, and I was pleased to discover that while Logan's slice was a normal size, mine was 1/4 of a 10 inch pie. needless to say, we shared.


but not with the babies.

spoon fighting

As they have grown up, we have had to place the babies' chairs further apart. If they are too close, one might steal from the other (peas! let me have some of yours!) or one might try to unload something they don't like onto the other's tray. today they learned how to bridge that gap.

Breakfast for the babies is usually eggs or oatmeal, and maybe a little fruit. Both are easy to make, although the oatmeal can get a little messy. Today I had my back to the babies as they ate their oatmeal, and I heard the clink clink of silverware coming together. Turning around, I see the babies have each reached across the divide and are are pirates dueling on the gangplank, or knights on the field of battle, or whatever it is they were imagining. (probably something along the lines of "hey, let's hit spoons together!")

A baby rump, and a baby belly (cross-wise)

On the left, we have Baby A, mooning the world On the right we have Baby B, looking like a cut of ham.

Extravagant gesture: take two

Wow, so we're having twins again! That seems pretty big. We're still trying to wrap our heads around the concept. I pulled out my multiples nutrition and birth book from off the shelf this morning and flipped through it looking for reminders as to how much more protein I need every day etc. (it's a lot). While I was skimming, I came acrosss a chapter that I found amusing. It was on the myriad of reactions that people usually feel after finding out they are carrying multiples.
They said typically, women (and men), go through four stages: Shock-- Denial-- Anxiety/Anger/Depression--Acceptance/Adaption. (It's interesting these are also the stages of grief and mourning).

I tried to recall my feelings from my first pregnancy and I think that it is quite possibly true that I went through a period where I felt all of these emotions distinctly. This time though I think I went a lot more quickly to the acceptance and adaption stage. I don't think that that is necessarily because I've been through it before and am thence prepared. I just think that what else can you really do. Leading up to the ultrasound I perhaps felt more anxiety, but the second I saw those two little heads I moved very quickly past emotion to "well that is that." I felt peaceful and a strong sense that God will provide for us as he always has done. Everything that needs to be done will be done and we will be blessed once again with two more babies that we will love and care for and who will bring exceeding joy and poop into our lives. Perhaps this peace was only due to the holy hour I made before the sonogram, but I am grateful for it.

who wants chowda?

This is reality in our home right now.

WARNING: Explicit Content

So... last night was crazy. Helena was very upset before bed, almost to the point of being inconsolable. We chalked it up to teething, and perhaps the strange acidic number 2 she dropped in her drawers right before bed. Bedtime went off without a hitch, and life continued as usual.

Until she woke up crying at 5AM...

Logan: "I think Helena's diaper is overflowing, could you grab another diaper?"

See, this isn't usual, but not unheard of. Sometimes they pee alot at night... While I'm getting the diaper from the next room I hear:

Logan: "Um... you'd better come get her..."

It seems as though the overflow was not urine-related, but was rather more sinister. And the sinister stuff was leaking out all over Helena's legs, the sheets, the comforter, and Logan. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. I get to work on the diaper aspect, Logan gets to work on the sheets. James gets to work on waking up and crying, and Helena gets to work on being a sad little miserable girl with diarrhea the consistency of pudding made from texas chili. See, the chili was the previous night's dinner, and I swear Helena must have eaten almost as much as I did. We surmise it was now tearing through her poor little innards, and we promised to never again repeat our mistake.

H. got a nice dip in the tub, Logan continued work on the sheets, and James, well he kept crying. Eventually everyone was clean and dry (except for James' eyes, pobrecito) but the bed was still poopy, so we decided to retreat to the guest bed (a double bed; we usually sleep in our King size swedish bed.... ahhhhh....) We hadn't all slept in that bed in several months, and the babies are decidedly larger now. It was tight. And James liked to kick. And Logan had to wake up in 30 min. to go to work. Who needs an alarm clock when you've got texas chili?

Things are calmer now, a night later. the babies are asleep in the guest bed, as our king bed is getting another treatment of stain removal. After a day of airing out, the smell was still lingering...

In other news, almond milk helps contribute to an excellent white russian.

1st Haircut!

Compare to his shaggy mane in the pics below. Also, those are dad's hands doing the cutting... Logan couldn't bring herself to do it.

sleeping like a baby

Three words: Chocolate. Covered. Bacon.

tempus fugit

it's been a while since the last post. more pics coming soon. In the meantime, there's still snow on the ground, and here's a funny story from Mass today:

Fr. John Carney, our pastor (and only resident priest) related a story from last week's coffee and doughnuts after the 9:00 Mass. Someone came up to a parishioner manning the right to life table, and said that the church should keep it's nose out of politics. After relating this story, Fr. John said:

"Well, politics should keep it's nose out of theology! The sacredness of Life from conception til death is a matter of theology, as is the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. We'll never shut up! Not until these issues aren't issues any more. Put that in your coffee and drink it, whoever you are!"