What Doesn't Kill Ya

According to Sydney, we spend an inordinate amount of time looking for, and glean an annoying amount of enjoyment from, torturing her. By her measure, we have cruelly devised the misery inducing 'Clean Your Room Technique', the anguish triggering 'Pick Up the Basement Method' and the foot stomp/door slam evoking, 'Your Skirt's Too Short, Go Change Approach' (Just to name a few).

Much to her dismay, we have unveiled the newest in the line of torture, which we lovingly call the 'Volunteer of Your Time Scheme' and that pairs nicely with the 'No Sleeping In Technique.' This double punch has caused violent fits of eye-rolling, loud and persistent protesting and even a playing of the But I Have Homework! card.

As for Alex, we can currently get him to do just about anything by hinting that we have the power to make sure he's a dancing chicken in the upcoming ballet this year. Man, he loves volunteering!


Mwahhhhaaahaaaaa! Sydney's right. This parental torture thing is fun.

 Smilin' on the Inside

Not a dancing chicken

Stalking of the Goonies House

First things first: I'm in love with Astoria, Oregon. It has a mysterious feel that I'm a complete sucker for, it's on the coast, it's swarming with craftsman houses which I drool over,  it has an arty and interesting downtown district and you hear sea lions barking as readily as you hear the seagulls. It's hard not to be charmed by this place.
Of course, Astoria has the added draw that Goonies was filmed there: a film that made me dream of living in Oregon when I was growing up and a film that my own kids adore. We couldn't pass up an opportunity to sniff this place out and act like giddy starstruck tourists out front...

Goonies never say die!

From the Oregon Coast, With Love

As the summer heat and crowded beaches are giving way to warm evening light,long shadows and stretches of endless people-less coastline, we took our yearly autumn trip to the coast. Have I mentioned recently how much I love Oregon?