Nest of clothes

Nest of clothes by Corinne S.

This morning Maple decided that Benjamin's dirty clothes made a more interesting bed than her customary spots on the couch or in her crate.

Man-pug bonding

Man-pug bonding by Corinne S.

At least now Benjamin is feeding her non-alcoholic drinks, though the intensity with which she cleans the bottle is a bit disturbing. Plus now she thinks unattended bottles are all fair game. ;-)

Great customer experience

With the explosion of pregnant ladies in our lives last summer, we were seeking alternate beverages to serve our guests that still felt special and were tasty. I'd had a lavender dry soda at a yummy restaurant in Redmond, so I was exciting when I saw these sodas at the grocery store. I started buying them for our pregnant guests and they were a big hit.

In the meantime, Benjamin became a kumquat dry soda addict and has been buying them regularly ever since. They're a great choice compared to regular soda health wise, but they're harder on the pocketbook.

So recently Benjamin found two bottles out of two four-packs that didn't have properly closed tops (whether this occur ed at manufacturing, in transit, or in the store we haven't a clue). Being the prudent man he is, Benjamin poured them out.

Being the detail-oriented wife I am, I emailed the local Dry Soda company (from my iPhone on the couch while watching Buffy) and let them know about the problem we'd had. I asked for a free four-pack coupon in return for our trouble. The company wrote back first thing the next morning and said they'd send over a "case" to our house right away and to please just let them know which store we bought it from so they could look into the problem.

I wrote back and they sent us the drinks right away. The case turned out to be more like 10 bottles, but still a generous, prompt, and courteous reply to my customer service inquiry. So I wanted to say how great these drinks are and that the local Seattle company is good too. Splurge and grab some when you want a nice non-alcoholic option for yourself or guests.

(Another day I'll tell you about my completely unsatisfying customer experience with Plaxo, but not today.)

A friend represents women in technology

My friend Connie Missimer was featured on Microsoft's women's history month page last week and I didn't blog it in time. However, you can still get to the page about her: Connie Missimer, User Experience Researcher. It's a nice profile.

Claire's got a little boy on the inside

Claire had her gender-revealing 20 week ultrasound this week and found out they're having a little boy. Pretty exciting! Good work on managing to get one of each naturally, guys.

Flash Is Coming to the iPhone After All... (Maybe)

For those who care about iPhone, you may be interested to know that Steve Jobs' ploy seems to be working. Wired.com: Adobe Flash Is Coming to the iPhone After All... Maybe

Sun, grass, ahhhh

Sun, grass, ahhhh by Corinne S.

Here Maple demonstrates the relaxed tenor of our weekend. This is also her vote of approval for Claire's new yard. :-)

Own it

Own it by Corinne S.

Sitting in the front seat, Maple owns the world.

Workplace customizations

Someone who works on the same floor in my office has outfitted our kitchen with a Hamilton Beach meat grill. This person uses it often to heat up some sort of meat pockets.

It's a bit smelly for those of us who share the kitchen, but probably produced tasty results for a "brown bag" lunch. And the smell is nothing when compared with microwaved fish...

Husbandly successes

After merely a year back at Cingular/AT&T, Benjamin has been promoted to a higher post. He's now Senior Technical Director of the Production Operations team for AT&T's eCommerce division. Sounds pretty swanky, huh? I don't know that it's swanky exactly, but it does expand his reporting structure to two teams (about a dozen people) and is a sure sign he is as cool as we all knew he was.

Congratulations dear husband. Keep kicking corporate booty!

Caught red-handed

Caught red-handed by Corinne S.

Mabry has that caught-in-the-act look.

Cute hat!

Keston by Rob Gruhl

Here's Keston (Rob & Steph's son) wearing a great hat that my mom made him. :)

Bowser Beatbox

Silly, but quite funny. Speakers or headphones required. Be sure to click Start and play with the keys across the bottom. Beatbox - Tele2

Flash Not Good Enough for Steve Jobs

Apparently Steve Jobs thinks that torturing iPhone users is a good way to apply pressure to Adobe to make them create a faster, full-featured version of Flash for the iPhone. And so we wait. And wait. Read the TechCrunch article

Good mood + Luna bar = Personal best

This evening I did a second presentation to our CEO and it went very well. In a good mood, I staved off hunger by eating a Luna bar in the car on the way to the pool.

Then I proceeded to beat my personal best of swimming 30 laps at a go by one lap. Now my personal best is 31 laps. (35 is a mile.) I feel great now. Go go gadget Luna Girl.

Double dog days

Double dog days by Corinne S.

My mom's pug Carol is staying with us for several day while my mom and Rich are taking some continuing education classes for their appraisal licenses.

We're enjoying the doggyness of it all and our neighbor dog is very glad to have Carol as a play partner with longer endurance than my sleepy pug.

Happier hour?

Leave it to Miller and Nathan to redefine happy hour. They host a happy hour for parents (and their kids) at their house on the last Friday of the month.

I attended for the first time on Friday night after swimming 3/4 mile. I may have been the only childless person there, but it was great to see my friends and their little cuties.