Welcome another baby to our midst

Keston Daniel Gruhl002 by Rob Gruhl

Rob & Steph's baby, Keston Daniel Gruhl, was born at 10:56pm on Friday, Saturday 28th (he made it here early enough that he and his dad have a full day seperating their birthdays). Keston weighed 8 lbs. 7.2 oz and was 19” inches long at birth. According to the grape vine, everyone is doing great and Steph and Rob are super happy. Keston has been put on a "routine course of antibiotics...due to much poking and prodding in the course of labor" so they'll be in the hospital until tomorrow. Welcome to the circle Keston. We're looking forward to meeting you in person. And happy birthday today to new daddy Rob!

I read it in under 48 hours (rated 4 stars)

Still Summer

by Jacquelyn Mitchard

This past weekend Benjamin and I went to Hood Canal and stayed in a bed and breakfast for a night. After a walk to te beach, a great dinner, and whatnot, we each read a book cover-to-cover in a weekend. This is the book I read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great dip into the characters lives and minds plus a page-turning adventure. One of the characters ia a bit two-dimensional and one gets what she doesn’t deserve, but it’s a great story and just as good of as read as Mitchard’s other fab books.

See more about Still Summer

An amazing memoir (rated 4 stars)

Glass Castle 10d

by Jeannette Walls

This is an astounding story of Janette Walls’ life. I don’t really know anything about the author (outside of what she covers in the story) and I picked this book up on a whim. Despite my lack of familiarity with the author, it was a fantastic memoir that gives true perspective on the things that most of us take for granted.

See more about Glass Castle 10d

Hack the iPhone?

There's a great video in the New York Times technology section on how to hack the iPhone, or more specifically how to install 3rd party apps on your iPhone. Check it out. Be sure to note the warning at the end (in text) before actually trying it out.

DRM-free music from Amazon

Today, Amazon's MP3 store has officially launched (though it's considered a beta still). It's all public and working, so give it a go. The catalog isn't comprehensive since not all music studios are on board with DRM-free, but it's a great deal when the music you want is available this way. And the Washington Post thinks it's a better offer than iTunes Plus, the Apple DRM-free store. :-) Washington Post article: Amazon's MP3 Store - Faster Forward

Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs

The Onion tackles the "issue" of pugs. Very funny results. Check out the slideshow and its captions for additional dark humor. Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs

No sun=slow-drying bathing suit

No sun=slow-drying bathing suit by Corinne S.

I know. It's rocket science. ;-P

It's really Fall (damn it)

It's really Fall (damn it) by Corinne S.

This morning I finally had to shut all the windows and turn off our
furnace's "summer fan." I haven't resorted to turning on the heat yet,
but it's clearly just a matter of time.

Doggies

Peter & Amy watching their puppy Hank by Corinne S.

And of course I continue to spend plenty of time with Maple, The Adorable. We go for walks and to the dog park when I'm not swimming or working late.

A few Sundays ago I went to the Marymoor off-leash park for the first time with my friends Pete and Amy and their 6 month old lab Hank. Maple has been to that park before on her "Big Dog Walks," but I had never been.


It was also the first time Maple and I met Hank. When we were there, Hank proved to be a serious water dog with a deep love of fetch.


Maple, on the other hand, shied away from the deep water. Instead she found her boy twin (in a darker shade) and they bonded with typical pug-go-round games.

Bumbershooting

Bumber-art by Corinne S.

Benjamin and I met his parents at Bumbershoot on Labor Day for the Sherry annual trek. Monday apparently wasn't the best day to go since the acts weren't all that impressive. But we ran into Natalie, saw some interesting dance, I ate a great Polish sausage (oh how I miss them since Poland), and Barbara and I bought a small fortune in artisan jewelry (here's one pair of earrings I bought). Overall, it was a good time, even if overpriced.

Girls' day

Looking at Eileen's wedding photos by Corinne S.

A few weeks ago, after a Saturday swim, I went to Vashon to visit Eileen and my mom. The pugs came too. We had a not-nearly-long-enough great time together. Benjamin and I are going back for an all-genders afternoon of fun there again in early October.

Other people's babies

Moms' couch by Corinne S.

Another thing I've been playing with lately: other people's babies. Mostly little Mabry, but on the night pictured we had a movie night with a row of mom's and babies. It was a fun, impromptu plan I came up with when the boys decided it was a gaming night.

Sometimes I even get to wear her in the Ultimate Baby Wrap, which I like. Other times I just photograph her near to death. Of course I can't be bothered to sit at my home PC long enough to process and post said photos, but they're keeping my hard drive company.

Working hard

In addition to all the swimming, I've been working hard at my new job. Since we launched the Unbox video player 2.0 in July, we've added the ability to pre-order videos and subscribe to TV seasons in progress. Unbox was also big in the news recently because NBC announced it will no longer sell its shows on iTunes, but will sell them through Amazon Unbox. To prove it, they're offering free premieres of 4 new shows (including Bionic Woman) two weeks prior to when their air on TV for the first time. We're all pretty jazzed about it. Now I'm at work on another project to make Amazon Unbox better and it launches in October. It's great to be delivering features to customers on such a regular basis. :-)

Where have I been?

End of summer by Corinne S.

Here's an image to capture where I've been spending much of my non-work energy of late. I've been swimming 2-3 times/week, getting in as much as I can before the outdoor pool closes and the dark and rain come in full force.

Miller, Claire, and I have made a standing date now to swim (at the indoor pool) every Tuesday evening. It's been great and the camaraderie and regularity of it is pushing all of us to swim more, further, and faster. Nathan comes sometimes too, and baby Mabry is now a regular attendee.

On weekends I've been going to West Seattle's fantastic Colman Pool as much as I can, usually at least one weekend day. Claire and Miller have generally gone at least one day too.

This past weekend was the last gasp at the Colman Pool this year--post-season. I went both Saturday and Sunday, hung out long after my laps were complete, and worn my bikini to get some sun. It was fantastic. I saw Rob, Steph, and Nancy there, too. Once you go you just want to keep going! And I hear it's nice to take a break from gravity when you're as pregnant as Steph is now (she's due on the 23rd).