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So I’m not one for secrets. Never have been.

I mean, I can definitely keep a secret - I just don’t like them. Case in point, This will be Julia’s first fully realized Mother’s Day. And with that comes Julia’s first proper Mother’s Day gift. Do you see where this is going?

With Julia not working (for money), our spending habits have really had to change. Now it’s not difficult to save a little extra here and there for something special (like going to the movies) but two tickets to the local cinema were not going to adequately say “thanks for giving birth to our son. You’re a real trooper and I love you very much” . Diamond earrings or a pearl necklace do a much better job of that.

Problem is, we can’t spend that kind of money and Corbin has really started to grab things and hold on tight, so jewelry is kind of on the “outs” right now anyway. Enter Plan ‘B’.

One thing I’ve been wanting for Julia is a new pocket camera. The one her brother gave her 4 years ago is starting to show it’s age. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome at the time and he’s awesome for having purchased it for her birthday, but times- they are a-changin’.

So I started looking around and reading reviews and collecting alluminum cans and tried to decide which camera would be right for us.

I was really torn between the Nikon COOLPIX S210 and the Canon PowerShot SD1100. Both seam to be very comparable and fit my needs. I wanted small, fast and user friendly. But with so many options out there, it was really hard to choose.

The Nikon doesn’t have a lot of reviews yet and no proper real-world tests but it seemed to be a good camera and offered some advance setting control not available in the Canon. Plus it comes in cool colors. But the Canon does have a proven track record and we know from experience how good Canon’s generally really are. What to do, what to do…

In the end, it simply came down to what did Costco carry in-store. Nikon COOLPIX S210 won, this time. The Costco camera package included the leather case and 1gig SD card, battery and charger (and was available in purple) for the same price as amazon had for just the camera, battery and charger.

Back to my whole secrets point. I couldn’t wait for Sunday to give Julia her new camera so I gave it to her on Tuesday (the day I purchased it). She really liked it but we’ll see if it holds up to the demands of Julia’s Shutter-bug-ness. It’s still new so look for some pictures to follow in the next few days.

Corbin turned 5 months on May 2nd and to celebrate his dad installed his new Britax convertible carseat as well as added the tray attachment to his stroller. It’s hard to believe he’s already outgrown his infant seat, but it’s true. He’s at least 19lbs if not more and approximately 27″ tall.

Corbin continues to crack us up with his belly laughs and BIG grins. He has also started reaching more for objects and loves putting things in his mouth (hand, toys, blankets). He isn’t showing any desire to roll over just yet, but we try to coax him by chanting “come on Corbin…you can do it!” as well as using our hands to roll him over so he knows what to do. We know in time he’ll get it. He’s also taking his time with solid food. He is perfectly content with formula and even though I’ve tried rice cereal on a few occasions he hasn’t shown much interest. He does stare at us when we eat…that’s pretty creepy:) Have I told you he’s a well mannered baby? Well, he is. He is a blessing and makes my job enjoyable.

Enjoy the photos!

Dawn, of Colours of Dawn, has a recent post which I thought was a really cool idea. She participoates in a PhotoHunt and this weeks theme was TIME. Being extra creative, she posted Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 using images from here life. The result was pretty impressive and has inspired me to try it out too. Look for my attempt later. In the mean time, go check out Dawn’s interpretation of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

PhotoHunt Theme: Time « Colours of Dawn

More comment spam for your reading pleasure…

Dr. Jim Moris recently visited my site which apparently left him - impotent. I guess the Haunted Car Commercial scared the left him limp. Maybe I should add a disclaimer - “WARNING: this video is known to cause erectile dysfunction in some viewers. Watch at your own risk”

Hi! I’m Dr. Jim Moris. I’m from Ney York, and i like your site like i love my wife! It’s brilliant!
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Thanks!

Wait, are you suggesting people need to take drugs to enjoy my site? Well, maybe that’s true. But I think reading my blog kills enough brains cells without the aid of the pharmaceutical industry. Thanks, but no thanks.

I think I’m going to move to Marquette, Michigan or at least be buried there.

Have you ever done a Google Search for your name to see what comes up? Of course you have. But have you ever done an Google Image Search? Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Welcome back.

Turns out there are some interesting things you learn about this way. For example, are you familiar with Park Cemetery? I am…now.

There you’ll find the simple headstones of a family that gave us a U.S. Supreme Court justice, the father of night-time wildlife photography And philanthropists who’ve graced our city with parks, a planetarium, pools, zoos, and many other community-enriching facilities.

It’s interesting to learn that there is a whole city that has benefited from your family. Makes me want to get back into our family tree and see what else is out there. Time to call the family historian and putting this stuff on the web.

What new things did you learn about after doing a Google Image Search for your name? If you write about it, leave a link in the comments.

theymightbegiants.com - From the album Here Come the ABCs which goes great with Here Come the 123s

No stranger to the realm of children’s records, They Might Be Giants have seen success with their CD No! and the book-and-CD combo Bed, Bed, Bed. Their latest CD, Here Come the ABCs, offers up 25 alphabetically themed songs. However, as is their charming way, the two Johns (Flansburgh and Linnell), use the letters as merely the connective tissue, allowing them to pursuit intriguing flights of fancy that consider everything from the relative power of letters and sounds to animal hijinks. Just as they’ve always done, there are wistful ballads and high octane rockers. TMBG have always been a family-friendly band, and this disc works just fine for adult fans, who can rightfully consider this simply their newest release. –David Greenberger

So it appears I’m addicted to SEOmoz now but there was a recent post that really hit home today. SEOmoz | Google Follows Nofollowed Links in SEOmoz Comments?

I may be totally wrong on this, or maybe I’ve overlooked some obvious explanation as to why some content on the end of nofollowed SEOmoz comment links has been indexed and ranked. Puzzling over this by myself and with friends hasn’t produced any good conclusions, so I thought I’d throw this out there to the community.

You see, about half my daily traffic comes from Google Image Search (check out the 5th image) Only problem is, it’s not my image. It’s not even hosted on my site. Come to think of it, it’s just a text link to the image that was left as a comment on another post.

So what’s the big deal? Google and other search engines are not supposed to see those links, or at least not follow them (hence “nofollow”) The extra traffic is good and all, but what the heck! Make up your mind already