The Real Gift List

That was just a joke before. Please do not fool yourself into thinking that I would be content with a mere grammatical correction! I want money, precious jewels, fine fruits and cheeses!

But since I don't think I'll get any of those things, here is my toned down birthday gift list. Some of these are actually pretty boring, but if you don't have much time/energy/creativity, those are the ones for you.

• Any Johnny Cash CD, but preferably older rather than newer. (I don't have any, so feel free to pick your favorite)
• white ankle socks
  
• Alice Peacock CD "Who I Am"
  
• A new blow dryer (this one could be difficult, as I'm not really sure which one I want...)
• A gift card to Kohl's (in any denomination) : )

Ok, that is about all I can come up with. However, I will still accept, and even welcome, original gifts, so please do not supress your inner gift-genie. (I don't even know what that is)

Alright, ALRIGHT!!

You've all pushed me far enough. I've finally come up with my gift list, and I expect to receive everything on it. It's actually quite simple, and each of you can give me the same gift if you truly care about what I want.

I would like for all of my friends and family to stop saying the words "like" and "ummm." Instead of "I was like...", I want to hear "I felt..." or "I said...". And if try to look up "ummm" in the dictionary, you won't find it, because it's not even a real word! It makes you sound less intelligent, even though I know you are all very intelligent people.

Thankyou.


And no further references to hair dye would be appreciated as well. If you must know the full story, visit our blog later this afternoon. I plan to have worked up the courage to post the whole painful thing by then.

Check out Andy's Gift list for Janell's Birthday

Hi everybody, I have tried my hardest to get a birthday idea from Janell, but she refuses to cooperate, so the only alternative I have is to pick a gift for her from Andy's gift list, at least that way, someone will get something they want. Otherwise I could just close my eyes and walk through the mall and purchase the first item I run into, then gift wrap it for Janell, but what if I veer into a store full of say, paper clips or toilet paper, you know "Clips Are Us" or "Flush Us", you get the picture. I am sure Andy would rather have a neat gift off his gift list instead of Janell getting a case of paper clips or monogrammed toilet paper. I suggest the rest of you do the same unless Janell immediately and without dalay does an about face and supplies birthday ideas before it is too late.

The Kayaking Adventures Begin

The Hancock Barnharts are now the proud owners of a tandem kayak (thanks to Dad/Paul who has also taken up kayaking). We took our first excursion a couple of weeks ago, and Ella and Fletcher got to come along for the ride. Ella wasn't all that thrilled, and Fletcher jumped out while we were in the middle of the lake, so we had a fussy kid and a stinky wet-dog smelling dog to ride home with. Anyways, here we are, ready to head out on our first adventure. If any of you guys come up to visit us during the summer months, we'll take you out for an afternoon (or morning, or evening) on the lake.

Ella turns 1!

Yes, it has happened. Ella has had her first birthday - and the accompanying cake and ice cream and party hats and candles and noisemakers and punch-balloons and everything.

Ella got to share her birthday party with her Grandpa Gerard (his 60th was on Monday - so we did a bit of a surprise for him) and thoroughly enjoyed eating part of Grandpa's birthday cake, too. Two birthday cakes are definitely better than one! And when one of those cakes has 60 flaming candles on it, watch out! (The Gerard tradition does NOT include licking the frosting off of the candles, so Grandpa didn't have to lick 60 candles worth of frosting before eating his cake)

So...there was MUCH cake (very tasty - and leftovers for us to enjoy!) and frivolity. And presents. Which Ella enjoyed - looking at the packages, mostly (one very large Elmo bag, in particular). Fletcher had to help her open them up when we returned home (the party was at church, because we couldn't fit 25 people in our house at the same time and maintain any level of sanity or comfort), and she was more fascinated watching Fletcher shred the paper than she was interested in opening them up herself. That will change, however, probably by her next birthday.

Here is the "standard" Barnhart birthday photo - licking the frosting off of the candle. However, Ella decided to bite the candle rather than lick it, so now the candle has teeth marks in it, and she didn't get all that much frosting. She'll learn.

Lets Go Camping!

Can anyone explain this? I just took the trash bin out to the road in the rain, and had an instant urge to go camping.

Right at last!

I would like to refer all you Doubting Thomas's to my blog entry of May 27 2006 at http://mikesblog-mike.blogspot.com/ predicting the dramatic and unexpected drop in gasoline prices. Should we play a little tune called "Gasolina" to celebrate my clairvoyant writings?

Ella Gets a Little Jazzy

Confirmed: not only does Ella refuse to turn down jazzy music, but she actually starts dancing to it immediately. So the only question in my mind: which parent does she get this from?

Barnhart Household Sees Gross Computing Power Rise by 4 mhz, Memory Increase of over 500 kilobytes

Harnessing the sheer, brute manlihood of a souped-out 8086 is not for the faint-of-heart. Nor, do I now realize, is it for those without a copy of DOS sitting around on a 320kb floppy. I confess that I did not anticipate so soon the day when I cursed my big 1.2mb floppy disks for being so advanced and so incompatible.


Yes, that's right. Another computer has been placed under my charitable auspices. I found it abandoned at a local Salvation Army earlier this week. Ironically enough, I had intended to visit my local branch to present them with a $30 cash donation. Once I was there and my heart was burdened by the neglected IBM PC, I offered both my cash donation and my sponsorship of the machinery's adoption.

In case anyone happens to need a little more processing power these days, I will be graciously connecting my newly-purchased IBM 5150 to the outside world via a bulletin-board system. It will be accessible in minute or half-minute units. I will consider waiving the $4.00/minute connection rate for close family members. "Close" applies only to those still living at home. And "connection" is defined by physically walking downstairs to the basement. And "connection rate" is defined as any of the following: turning the computer on, placing a disk in the drive (double rates for using both floppy drives), appreciating the sleek design of the computer as one is walking past, or walking past it, even if only to get to the bathroom.