Death by Stairs

Folks, our stairs are killing me. All 79 of them have a plot against me, I'm sure of it! A couple times each day I travel (Yes, travel. It IS a journey.) up and down these stairs with Cole, my 25 pound and ever growing hip attachment. Often, I have a bag or two of groceries in my other hand (THAT is a whole other story) and a backpack containing some life essentials on my back. You know...diapers, wipes, sippy cup, snack, wallet, kleenex, and of course, a couple toys for the ride.
The upside to this is that my leg muscles burn each time I reach my front door and I get my heart rate up to fat burning levels. It's a wonder I get the key in the door. There should be a warning at the bottom of the stairs! You'd think that after 2 and a half years of doing this I'd be in better shape, like those who live at high altitudes.
So let's pretend that Cole & I leave our apartment 2 times each day, which means we return home 2 times each day, too. That's 79 x 2 = 158 stairs per day. Then, that's 158 x 7 days per week = 1106 stairs per week logged on my legs carrying 25 pounds plus each time.
My only hope is that Cole will soon be ready to walk, which means he can start climbing those stairs HIMSELF. Whew!

The Cole Man

The Cole Man

babble and laundry tubs

So today while Cole was eating a snack I decided to record our conversation. The funniest part of our talk was when I said, "Cole, say mamamamaama!" and immediately he says, "dadadadadada." I couldn't get that one on video, though.
We decided to be creative with Cole's laundry tub, too. Instead of buying a little car that Cole can ride on and push around, we figured out that the laundry tub works just as well! Cole stood up today, too, for about 15 seconds all by himself, and we can tell he has the urge to walk. Fun!



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Smiley Boy!

My Chocolate Status

This is exciting!
I read a book called The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel recently and loved it. It was light-hearted and very informative and I highly recommend it. So the book taught me a lot about the history of chocolate, various companies, specific tasting methods, a few recipes, health benefits of chocolate, etc.
Anyhow, I got the idea to look at her website recently. She used to be the chocolate buyer for Fortnum and Mason (some kind of top of the line grocery store in London) but now has left to do independent chocolate things. In looking at her website I thought I'd try emailing her a couple questions I had about good places to get chocolate and her recommendations. I was thinking, "I hope some employee of hers actually sends me some kind of response."

But, lo and behold, what did I find in my email inbox after only 2 days? An email from Chloe HERSELF! I guess this isn't impressive to probably any of you, but it was very much so to me. Her email was actually longer than what I wrote her. She gave me ideas and her opinions, specific brands, stores, and even a few links to some companies she was talking about. How great is that?

It makes me think about how much I want to hang out with and ask questions of TRUE chocolate MASTERS like her.

Please add a couple points to my Chocolate Status Card, thank you very much.

Once again, LAUGHTER

It almost sounds like Cole is pain and anguish - but he's really just laughing cause Anne was crawling up to me. The most random things make him laugh. I had to catch it fast on the video so I forgot to turn on the light - but I think you really will just want to hear this one.




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Sledding...Frank Style

This week is Energy Week or Ski Week for most schools in Austria. That means a week off work to enjoy winter, snow, skiing, sledding, and the like. There is no snow here, though, which is a bummer. It's actually been a really mild winter. I've been hearing about all this snow in the midwest and I'm jealous! So Cole & Chris made up their own version of sledding last night. Enjoy the video of Frank style sledding!


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Go Colts and Go Mike!

Check out this link on You Tube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jVaCqwAnS5M

It's a video with photos from this year's Superbowl. The lyrics and music were written by MY BROTHER, Mike Luginbill. The song is titled Dreaming in Blue. If you're interested in more of his music, check out http://www.myspace.com/mikeluginbill or go to iTunes and type in Michael Luginbill.

Baby Bartels

Our friends Joe & Christiane Bartels had a baby yesterday! Congratulations!

To see Lucy, go to their blog: www.bartelsbeat.blogspot.com.

Lost

I lost my wallet again last night. I went to Billa (our neighborhood grocery store) to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner and some Pepsi for Chris. I thought I dropped my wallet back into my purse before leaving, but I guess I dropped it somewhere else. Ugg! I went back to Billa today to ask if it was there. No, of course.
Last time I lost my wallet a nice policeman came to our door that night with it, so I'm crossing my fingers that a nice policeman will make an appearance again today. If not, I guess it's not the end of the world. I can cancel my credit card and get a new public transportation pass. I guess I'll need a new wallet, too. I love shopping!

Peekaboo!

Cole & I played peekaboo with his blanket yesterday and Chris captured it on film. What a funny boy!

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fort!

Chris and Cole built a fort in our living room this morning!