upgraded

It's only been a little less than three months since we set up our fishtank, and we have fallen so in love with fish that Mr. BikeMan decided on the spur of the moment yesterday on the way home from church to upgrade the tank - more than doubling the size from the small 4 gallon to a much larger 10 gallon.

We also purchased some new fish to add to the collection. Of course, we've named them Whovian names:

We have two of these silverbacks who are Cyberman One and Two.

The orange guppy with the red tail on top is Bad Wolf. Below her are Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler and Donna. They apparently are being chased by a few Daleks.

We have six tetra: three are specifically named Dalek Caan, Dalek Sek and the Supreme Dalek.

Can't tell 'em apart of course.

The new kingdom. Notice that it is defended. (He's camouflaged.)

Mr. BikeMan was a little offended that we had changed Hamlet's name in the first place from Mister T (because of his black tail -- looks like a mohawk) and then last week we re-named him, a second time, as the Doctor. I'm sure that the girls will continue to call him Doctor, but to Mr. BikeMan, he'll always be Mister T.

if i had a million dollars...

Mr. BikeMan dared Ingrid to pull her loose tooth before bedtime. He had to ante up $4. Way to go, Brave Girl!

10 things for which i'm thankful

Haven't done one of these in too long. Rules haven't changed. They are listed in no particular order:

1. Excedrin Migraine
2. Direct flights on Alaska Airlines from the left coast to the right...see number 3
3. Mr. BikeMan is comin' home this afternoon!
4. Streaming Netflix has added The Munsters and Flipper
5. Our church
6. Starbucks Italian Roast at 0630 on a Saturday morning
7. That I can re-watch last night's Fringe epi on Fox.com -- I actually fell asleep, not because I was bored, but because I was overcome by exhaustion
8. An amazing new recipe for Dutch Babies
9. Blue and white fingernail polish on little thumbs
10. Snow days and school cancellations

Dutch Baby of my dreams...

"Look Mama, she's wearing a dress!"

anglophelia

On the way home from picking up Ingrid from school the other afternoon, she announced that she wants to move to England.

I said, "Ingrid, did you know that the United States used to be a part of the British Empire? We used to be English." We do live near quite a few key Revolutionary War sites, after all, and we remind the girls often of our great nation's history.

She replied a bit petulantly, "I don't want to be American anymore. I want to be English!"

Perhaps I have her watch one too many BBC costume dramas, Doctor Who episodes, or left too many Austen and Dickens novels laying about.

Then she asked, "How long does it take to drive to England?" I suppose a geography lesson is in order.

PS I thought this photo was a bit Twiggy (with longer hair). Those are my boots, by the way.

i wonder if these will work with Legos...

Character Options, who also make Zhu Zhu pets, will be releasing the first ever Doctor Who construction toys this spring. Think Legos or Playmobil style play. I love the little Cyberman...never though a Cyber could actually be cute. The smirk on 11's face is pretty priceless. Wonder if they'll go back and do sets for 10 and 9 as well...

Ilsa, who is my Lego girl, already has these on her wish list.

More cool toys from the London Toy Fair 2011:

we've repopulated the fish tank

The saga of the fish tank continues...

As you know, the primary cast of Hamlet dies in the end, well, except for Horatio, but we didn't have a fish named after him last go-round, and in our case, though, Hamlet did survive.

So, we made a trip to the pet store after school today to try, try again. The girls have named the new fish as follows:

• Ingrid's orange fish (a Molly) is Rose Tyler
• Ilsa's gold fish (a Molly) is Donna Noble
• (I think their names are backwards, but the girls are adamant that is how they want them named...)
• My silver fish with the orange tail is Jackie Tyler (because I'm the Mom, and I'm Ingrid's Mom, and Jackie is Rose's Mom...how's that for logic?)
• The albino catfish is the TARDIS
• Since they've changed the naming scheme from Hamlet to Doctor Who, Mr. BikeMan's fish (the silver one with the black tail) is now The Doctor, the 10th Doctor to be specific.

We've already had a grand time watching these new, much more active fish swim around... Here's hoping the cast of Doctor Who fares better than the cast of Hamlet!

ilsaism - coffee fountain

I had to take Ilsa into the ER this morning for high fever, headache and dehydration. We left home around 6:15. It was cold, dark and the automatic coffeemaker doesn't turn on until 6:45. I needed coffee. Badly. I was moaning a bit about it in the car, and Ilsa said, "Mommy, I wish the hospital had a coffee fountain for you."

the dream of the 90's is alive in portland!

This is side-splitting hilarious, especially to someone who grew up with lots of ties to Portland. There is 1 off-color line, and a few "edgy" costumes, but, well, it's Portland.

Sweets to the sweet: farewell!

DSC00950, originally uploaded by BikeBookBread.

I loved Ophelia: Forty thousand brothers
Could not, with all their quantity of love,
Make up my sum.

Hamlet - Act V Scene 1

We're having a bad few fishy days....

sing a dirge

DSC00949, originally uploaded by BikeBookBread.

I'm so sorry to have to announce the news that Aquamarine Bubbles Candycane is dead. At least she expired in the splendor of the pink rhinestone-studded princess castle.

even more geek girl stuff

Check out this neato video. The past few days I've sure been geeking out, huh?

a doctor who quiz...

Okay, I think Ilsa is officially a Doctor Who FanGirl. Ilsa's new booster seat for the car arrived yesterday. How many Doctor Who references can you find? Ilsa came up with these all on her own. Honestly, this is not what I was thinking when I bought this booster for her!

Answers below...

3-D glasses from Doomsday

Space suit from The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit

Brainy specs worn by the 10th Doctor

Bow tie as worn by the 11th Doctor

Stetson cowboy hat worn by the 11th Doctor

in the sneak peak coming attractions for Season 6

hammer time

"Can't touch this!"

The USAF really needs to re-design the official PT uniform.

2011 list of banished words and phrases

The 2011 Lake Superior State University list of banished words and phrases is out. I'm guilty of using, "I'm just sayin'..." I guess I'll have to banish it from my vocabulary...

we're growing a TARDIS

DSC00905, originally uploaded by BikeBookBread.

I'm crocheting a little TARDIS for a BBCAmerica contest. i'm hoping that she is full-grown soon, because we will want to take her out for a spin. Perhaps she could visit Mt. Vernon or the Washington Memorial, or perhaps the White House.

it's a pillow, it's a pet, it's a pillow pet!

DSC00885, originally uploaded by BikeBookBread.

I've been hearing the girls sing this song for oh, about 9 months now. Little Ladybug Lady got TWO of them as gifts at her birthday party with her little friends on Saturday. She's in ladybug heaven!

the news out of Tucson...

We moved to Where George Walked from Tucson, AZ (aka Almost Mexico), where we lived for three years, this summer. I'm so incredibly saddened by the events of yesterday.

Please keep Congresswoman Giffords in your prayers. It sounds like her recovery is going to be slow and hard. Also pray for the victims who are still being treated for their serious wounds. Keep the families of those who were killed in your prayers.

We also need to pray for this man who has committed these horrible acts. Pray that his heart would be repentant, and that justice would be done.

huzzah!

DSC00840, originally uploaded by BikeBookBread.

I have always struggled with making birthday cakes look...acceptable. I was at Michael's this week getting some supplies for Little Ladybug Girl's birthday party later today, and came across Duff Goldman's new line of cake decorating supplies. I saw his pre-made fondant, and thought, why not? It had to taste better than WIlton fondant, and I'm used to rolling stuff with all of the bread baking that I do. Surely it had to be easier than piping frosting.

I'm a convert! I don't know that I'll ever pipe frosting again! I'm NOT bragging, I'm just extolling the virtues of this stuff! Now I will try and find a homemade fondant recipe, though Duff's stuff tastes really good. It's just pricey. So, see for yourself:

where's the TARDIS?

Fellow Whovians, check out this BBCAmerica contest. I don't have a Facebook account anymore, so I can't enter the girls' Lego projects or my really sad Bad Wolf cake, but if you are so inclined to enter...

Anyway, check out the entries. There are some that are really, really fun and amazing! But this one is my favorite! Mr. BikeMan? Can I amend my Birthday Wish from an iPad to a Mini Cooper TARDIS? (I think it's just a piece of paper and some stickers...maybe Mr. BikeMan would be willing to turn the Subaru wagon into my own personal TARDIS...)