a series of random events (and things of other note)

saturday night as i was heading upstairs and nearly about to close the door, i heard my name being yelled by my sister in the basement. it was one of those yells that in it's tone and volume said 'something is very wrong here.' knowing she had just taken my niece downstairs, i moved faster than i knew i was capable of moving, broke a nail somewhere along the way, and found my sister on the floor at the bottom of the basement steps. there was no immediate sign of my niece. all my sister could say was, get kendyl, i twisted my ankle, i can't move. so i moved through the basement to find kendyl standing next to the bed crying, and bleeding.

apparently, when carrying her down, kate had missed a step and they had both gone down, kendyl hitting her face against the wall. i don't think i have ever experienced anything so terrifying, but i swooped her up and rushed her upstairs where all our medically related supplies are. i had no sense of what or how bad her injury was. she was bleeding from the mouth but i didn't know if it was inside or out, or how much damage had been done. so as i attempted to clean her up to get a better gauge on the situation, she kept repeating 'momma boo-boo'. here was this precious innocent child, certainly in pain herself, but concerned about what was going on with her mother. it was so sweet i nearly lost it. as was her general attitude. from the moment i picked her up, she had stopped crying, and was dutifully doing exactly what i asked her to do. 'can you open your mouth like this?' she did. 'can you stick out your tongue?' she did. 'can you drink some water for me?' she did. it was as if she was saying, 'really i'm fine, but you need to make sure i'm fine, so i'll let you.'

as it turned out, it was a cut lip, but not a serious one. the bleeding stopped fairly quickly and she was off to her regularly scheduled bedtime, having made a full recovery by sunday (as evidenced below).


the rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful. i joined adam and jeremy for some grub on sunday night, where their new fascination with us living 'a seinfeld life' was further explored. adam has been cast as jerry, jeremy as kramer, scott as george, and i, of course, as elaine. this all started with a comment jeremy made last week after moving in next door to adam, and it has seemed to take on a life of it's own. on one hand, it's kind of cute, on the other, i remember that things didn't work out all for the original foursome, so i haven't completely bought into it yet.

in the 'random other things' category, i thought i'd take a minute to share some fun stuff with you. i subscribe to a lot of different product related blogs, many of them completely geeky. but i have come across some really fun sites/products in my adventures (some of which i've mentioned before), so i thought i would take a minute to summarize my favorites.

top 10 stuff i use:

1. smugmug-the best site i have found for photo hosting. i've also started ordering prints of my own photos from them and been really happy. (ps-save $5 by entering my email, or my code, CI1HxiatFP5y2, in the 'referred by' field)
2. the gorillapod--perfect for taking self-portraits without having to ask strangers to do it for you. available in a compact and slr version.
3. the aquapac-perfect for waterproofing digital cameras that do not have waterproof cases specifically made for them. my camera is expensive, and i have submerged it in this bag. just a testament to it's goodness
4. zazzle-a fabulous 'make your own product' site. so far i've used it for stamps and t-shirts, but the possibilities are much broader than that and prices are extremely reasonable.
5. flash slideshow maker-after being completely disappointed with a similar product i paid for, i was overjoyed to find this free product that does everything i need it to do (even allowing for burning to cd/dvd formats for tv viewing)
6. photofiddle-making messing with my photos totally fun!
7. netflix-need i say more?
8. webshots-i used to host my photos here (but i like smugmug so much better for that). now i use it to create my own screensaver rotation from my photos, and for the desktop calendar feature it has
9. thinkexist-when i need a quote for something, this is where i start
10. bloglines (of course)-for tracking all the websites you read and only having to check them when they are updated.

top 10 stuff i haven't used yet but really want to:

1. digital photo frames-these are becoming more widely available, and this is just one example. this is high on my 'must have' list!
2. self destruction button usb-just because it is so freakin cool
3. the powersquid-i f you are sick of getting screwed on the number of power strip outlets because your ac adaptors are too big, this is perfect
4. the tripod belt-if you are of the type to carry around a full size tripod (i know there are a couple of you)
5. the selk bag-no more getting tangled up in your sleeping bag
6. the optic slim scanner-for all your scanning needs
7. skirtsports workout skirts-for the female gym rats
8. the availabot-because it makes me laugh. hard.
9. six skewer vertical grill-who doesn't love a shish kabob?
10. the endless yoga bag-aside from carrying a yoga mat, i see posters and all sorts of other possibilities

so, is that all random enough for you?