19. February 2008 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

I put up a poll, and the people spoke.

Well, 8 of you spoke. Might have even been 6, since I voted on each of our computers.

But majority rules, and the ruling is that you liked the original template better. I have been looking for a format that will let me take advantage of the edges of my blog a little better.

Don, I like yours quite a bit, if I could tweak the colors some. Your information extends out to the edges of the screen.

Of course, if I were smarter in HTML, perhaps I could just get into the code, add a second “sidebar” and make the colors whatever I want.

Quick quiz! Name these colors! Just leave a comment with the answers. Maybe I’ll cut a portion of my ad earnings as a prize. Just the general hue, like “blue” or “red” or “green”:

1.) 0000FF
2.) 00FF00
3.) FF0000
4.) FF6FCF
5.) 6728B2
6.) FFFF00
7.) FFFFFF
8.) 000000

Remind me to post answers tomorrow.

18. February 2008 · Comments Off on Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Hi! This weekend Dave and I have been doing some web rearranging. His Model Railroading website is very very popular among others in the hobby, generating over 1000+ hits per week! Up until recently, another PRR Model RR fan had been graciously hosting Dave’s website, but recently some changes to Mr. Britton’s servers have made it hard for Dave to keep up remotely.

So this weekend we took the plunge and purchased a domain and hosting capability of our very own. $60 per year through InMotion Hosting. Feel free to visit at your leisure, although most of what you’re going to see is already on my blog, and are otherwise links to other websites Dave and I have floating around.

Owning our own domain is pretty nifty, with the ability to put up shopping carts and credit card transaction capabilities, as well as up to 1000 e-mail addresses. For fun, I set up patricia@thevollmerfamily.com but don’t bother sending me anything there — I’ll rarely check it. I’m trying to get it to redirect into my AOL account.

18. February 2008 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Hi! After having made several of these blankets, I finally took the time to feature one of them in a photo shoot of its very own!

I just finished it tonight and I can’t wait to ship it off to its recipient, Baby Madeline, who lives near St. Louis. She was born on Feb. 11th. Dave and I have been great friends with Madeline’s Dad for years (since grad school), and Madeline’s Mom is super-cool, too!

Yes, there’s a bit of a color changing issue here, I once again fell victim to the dye-lot: if you don’t buy all the yarn you need at once, expect color changes!

From 2008 02 17 Ma…

Here’s a closeup of the pattern knit into the blankie:

From 2008 02 17 Ma…
17. February 2008 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

Oh my goodness!

17. February 2008 · Comments Off on I Can’t Believe I Lived Here for 2 1/2 Years and Didn’t Know About This! · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

Yesterday Dave and I took a field trip to the Carolina Brewing Company for one of their weekly tours. We had a nice time (without the kids).

Dave did a description of the brewery and nice review of their beers here.

I just can’t believe we’ve been living right up the street from the place all this time and never thought to do this. It’s a great free activity for when family or friends come to visit.

Every Saturday afternoon from 1-3pm (perhaps even 4pm) they open up the taps for free “samples”, although you’re basically getting full pint glasses and you’re welcome to get as much as you like. Needless to say, we saw a lot of college kids.

Get there early, though…Dave and I arrived at 1pm exactly and there was a 10-15 minute wait before we made to the taps the first time. And we went straight back to the end of the line after we got our first pint, because we had drained our glasses when we got back to the taps (another 15 minutes). The taps are turned off during the tour portion itself, which is about 1/2 hour around 1:30-2pm.

We bought a set of 5 pint glasses, each of them featuring a different one of their beers. I was really wanting one of their Groundhog Day Imperial Stout glasses (go figure!) and the gentleman said they were out of new ones for me, but if I mingled among the crowd and found someone with one for their free samples, I could provide a clean drinking glass and take the used Groundhog’s Day glass. So that’s what I did! (I had 1 1/2 beers in me by this time, I had no problem batting my eyelashes at a guy to do it).

16. February 2008 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

(Thanks Maryann for reminding me about this this year!)

Looking for a fun activity with the kids this weekend? Check out Cornell University and the Audubon Society’s annual “Great Backyard Bird Count”.

This is a really easy way to help the birding world keep tabs on the migration/habitat patterns of North American birds, and unlike other bird counts, you don’t really need pre-registration or anything like that. You can observe for as little as a 15 minute increment for your counts to be integrated. Do it between now and midnight on the 18th to get your observations counted.

So all you have to do is go to the GBBC link and select the yellow “GO” link to input your findings. Even if you do all the observing ahead of time, you can put in the findings after the experiment is over and it will get into the results within 2 hours. My reports are already there!

And if you’re a statistics weenie like me, make sure you check out the results link at the top of the web page and see what kinds of cool data has been collected so far!

So I’m spending the next 2-3 days, Peterson’s Field Guide in hand, in the kitchen and backporch quietly observing. I’m trying to get Jake to help, and he seems very interested, but he can’t keep still and quiet enough. He gets all excited when he sees a bird and starts to dance around.

16. February 2008 · Comments Off on A Valentine’s Day Idea · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

So here’s what I did for the 4 grandparents for Valentine’s Day. I bought a package of heart-shaped mouse pads from Oriental Trading Company and fit in a pic of the boys from among the “A Hard Day’s Night” photo shoot.

Feedback from 3 of the 4 grandparents is that they’re very cute and they seem to love them!

I thought I could simply take a 3 x 5 pic and slip it into the mousepad, but I was mistaken. I ended up making sure the boys were against a somewhat white background so I could cut the silouette pictures and affix them into the mousepad. I have some Post-It note photopaper with which you peel off a backing and there’s a light adhesive to keep the photo from slipping. It’s nice for stuff like this.

From 2008 02 10 VD…
14. February 2008 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Enjoy this photo from one of our earliest outings, my AFROTC Military Ball in Spring 1994. Made the dress myself! I miss sewing. Will need to talk about that sometime.

More importantly, check out the brillo pad on my Dave’s head! Once he came on active duty he’s kept it so short you can’t tell how curly it can get.

From 1994 05 AF Ball
14. February 2008 · 4 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

I got tagged by Susie to do this, so here goes.

From DaveABUs

What is his name?
David Russell Vollmer.

How long have you been married?
13 1/2 years.

How long did you date?
About 1 1/2 years.

How old is he?
33.5 – yes, he’s a tad younger, but it’s definitely fun that way!

How old are you?
34.5

Who eats more sweets?
That’s a tough one. He’s the family chocoholic, but I can put away the Halloween candy like no tomorrow, if left unchecked!

Who said I love you first?
He did. In a Valentine’s Day card 15 years ago today. (“Awwwww”)

Who is taller?
Dave

Who can sing better?
We’re about even. We both have a good time belting it out in church, but you probably won’t hear us otherwise.

Who is smarter?
Dave’s the almost-PhD man. But one could argue that a piece of paper does not equal smarts. Seriously, though, Dave’s pretty brilliant and I couldn’t be more proud!

Who does the laundry?
Usually me. I just recently signed Dave off as being trained on our washer/dryer.

Who does the dishes?
Usually me, since he is bathing the kids at the same time. If I slack off or if there’s a dish he needs, he’ll do them. Or, if Dave needs a favor, he’ll surprise me and do them.

Who pays the bills?
I do. I have been thinking recently that if I were somehow incapacitated, it’d be good if Dave could do our bills. It’s a combination of auto-pay, Quicken and Web Bill Pay.

His guilty pleasure?
Chocolate and a good beer.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
If “right” is defined as by one standing at the foot of the bed, that would be Dave.

Who mows the lawn?
I usually do. Up till NC, it was exclusively Dave but the allergies here have been horrible on him. It’s a sight to see, all these men mowing the lawns, and my next door neighbor (single woman) and I mowing our lawns at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Besides you, who is his best friend?
Joe, one of his PSU roommates.

Who cooks dinner?
Usually me, but he gets a hankerin’ to mess around in the kitchen sometimes and he has a good time. He’s wanting to learn more about cooking, especially with wholesome, natural ingredients, which I think is great.

Who drives?
I do more often, because he can read books in the car and I get carsick if I do anything besides look out the window.

Who kissed who first?
I’m really not sure — it might have been one of those movie-moment-style mutual first kisses.

Who asked who out first?
Dave asked me.

What was your first date?
The movie “Gettysburg”. Not recommended for a first date, it’s a 4-hour long war epic.

Who proposed?
Dave. At the Victorian Manor restaurant in Bellefonte, PA. It was in front of everyone and I was very embarassed by all the attention.

Who has more siblings?
We each have one sibling. Dave has an older brother, I have a younger sister.

Who wears the pants?
Dave.

What is your favorite thing about him?
That he makes me happy, he treats me with respect, and he’s awesome with our boys.

I tag Morgan, Margaret and Maryann.

13. February 2008 · Comments Off on Do you like Nip/Tuck? I sure do! · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

This show is SO twisted…it’s like a car wreck on I-95…you can’t help but watch!

Nip/Tuck, Tuesdays at 10pm on FX