Go Sun Devils

Looks like the Marron and Gold Pulled off the comeback victory. It makes is so much nicer that it was against BYU.

http://www.sltrib.com/byucougars/ci_11279405

Clara Takes a Bow

Clara has learned how to show thanks to her adoring fans.

Christmas Concert

Nicolle has a choir concert coming up, if anyone is interested...

Bel Canto \bεl 'kanto\: [It.] Beautiful Singing

Home for the Holidays

An evening of holiday cheer and seasonal classics

Friday, December 5 • 8:00 PM
Saturday, December 6 • 8:00 PM
Monday, December 8 • 7:30 PM
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church2105 W Market St, Greensboro
Tickets and more information:
336-333-2220 or www.belcantocompany.com
Single Tickets:$20 Adult, $15 Senior, $5 Student
Group Discount: $5 off per ticket for groups of 10+

Twilight, I don't get you

BY GREG:

Before I begin, I have to admit that I have not read or seen any of the Twilight Books or Movie.

Having said that, I don't understand how a book can command such a following from so many groups. I am not being critical of anyone that likes this series. All I am doing is making an observation from the marketing that I have seen for the movie and conversations I have heard from my friends.
Here are the observations that I have made

1. The Marketing seems to be focused on the same group of people that like shows like Smallville, Dawsons Creek and other Teenage dramas


2. When I am in an Airport, I see the books prominently displayed, indicating that there is a strong demand from the business traveler for this book


3. HBO has seen there is a strong demand for the Teenage Vampire Drama's and has started a series True Blood. Wikipedia says that it will be the third most viewed HBO series behind Sex in the City and The Sopranos.

Someone please tell my why there is such a huge craze about this Series. A friend of mine wrote about it on his blog and now gets a few thousand(maybe less) visitors to his blog every day.

Is this another Harry Potter trend where the book appeals to a wide range of readers?

Do the people who enjoy it, enjoy their high school years?

Maybe that is it, I had more than enough Swirlie's, wedgies and pink bellies to never warrant another trip back to those dreaded years. (Napoleon Dynamite rang a little too true, except for Pedro winning the Election, and Napoleon getting Deb)

Anyway, you get to play the Salesman. Make you case why Twilight is all that, or why Twilight is Saved by the Bell with vampires (that would have been a better progression than the college years)

Imagine Screech as a Vampire, that would make his love of Lisa all the more exciting

Convince me.

Great Pranks

I(Greg) enjoy playing jokes on people. I would consider myself like Jim Halpert of The Office. Some that I have played people in the last year include:

• Auto Correct function in Excel - This is a great one. You go on to someone's computer and go to the Autocorrect funtion choice. The you set it up when they type something, like their Name, the computer automaticly changes the word to something else. Like I type "Greg" and what it turns into is "Greg is a loser with no friends" Lots of fun with lots of laughs.




• Raising the Desk - I picked up about 8 copies of the yellow pages and placed them under each of the legs of my coworkers desk, so when he came into the office, his chair seemed to be about 6 inches lower than before.
  
  
• Flipping the computer screen upside down - ALT + Ctrl + Down. Try it. Quick, easy, and very frustrating for the victim.


• Secret Santa - I printed out a couple of flyers for fake Secret Santa gift exchange and put down the contact information as a guy who is very manly and would never see himself doing that. The flyers were up for a couple weeks before he noticed they were talking about him.



• Reverse the Desk - A guy who I work with is very exact in how he likes his desk to be. It bothers him when I move a pen an inch(which I now do on purpose). When he was gone for a day, another guy and I flipped his office 180 degrees. Everything that was on his right was now on his left. The mouse was moved to the other side, the photos, the bookshelves, the filing cabinets were switched. The Keys on his keyboard were moved to spell his name. Then we swapped his photo of his wife with this photo -

I am now looking for some other ideas. Please let me know some.

Too Funny - Had to share

This is not a political statement, I just saw this video and had to show it to everyone.


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Feeling bad this Halloween season?

Dr. Clara is ready to assist youOr take your candy (trick or treating with Addie and Caden)Or hold your hand (downtown Halloween festival with friend, Aleesa).Or unknowlingly share her candy with you after she's gone to bed.

Oops... we are busted.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Clara's funny book

It is funny to see how she categorizes things. She calls every sport "soccie-ball."

• She sees my tennis racket and says, "soccie-ball."
• She sees Greg wearing a race t-shirt with a picture of someone running on it and says, "soccie-ball."
• We drive by a golf course and, again, "soccie-ball."
• Whenever Clara wants me to pick her up, she reaches out her arms and says, "Hold you." It is irrestistable.
• Clara had a diaper rash, and when we would change her diaper she would say "hurt." Then we would say, "Oh, I'm sorry." Her rash is gone, but now each time we change her diaper she says, "Hurt... Ohhhh I soooowwy-" with a very sympathetic look on her face.
• We went for a walk and halfway through, she sat down on the curb. Clara then insisted that we sit down with her. After sitting with us for a moment, she turns to each of us and says, "bye bye Mommy. Bye Bye Daddy." After saying that, she stands up and runs away as fast as she could, laughing the whole time. She must have gotten Greg's gene for playing jokes.

Speaking of playing jokes...

• After having whipped cream on her pancakes, Clara had most of the whipped cream on her face. Greg needed to leave to get to class, so he said his goodbye's, then Clara stood up in her high chair, with a mischieveous grin on her face, and requested Greg to give her a goodbye kiss. She has not done this before or since, but she knew that she would be able to "Share" her dinner with Greg that night.
• Clara likes to pretend with her doll's, It started with her rocking the dolls, but it has progressed to having the doll's go potty, giving high five's to the dolls and having the doll's color next to her.
• Clara read the book, "The Stupids (or Silly's as Greg's Mom would say) and in it, the boy eats with his toes. Soon after that, Clara started trying to eat her toes.

for Greensboro voters

Hello Greensboro voters... here is some information on bonds that will go before voters Nov. 4th -VOTE YES to keep Greensboro a great place to live!
War Memorial Auditorium Bond - $50 million
Supports structural, lobby, seating and balcony renovations
Renovations will attract entertainment acts that appeal to a broad audience and promote cultural tourism
A renovated War Memorial Auditorium will serve as a critical performance venue for our local arts sector
Delay of renovations to War Memorial Auditorium will be an economic loss for our community
County Sales and Use Tax Referendum - 1/4 cent increase in sales tax
1/4 cent sales tax will secure an alternative revenue stream to grow our community and the arts 1/4 cent sales tax addresses county's need for additional revenue while allaying pressure on property taxes
1/4 cent sales tax will generate about $16 million annually for Guilford County; 40% of this revenue would be contributed by non-residents
1/4 cent sales tax will increase revenue while keeping property taxes competitive
1/4 cent sales tax will not apply to groceries or gas
Parks and Recreation Bond - $20 million
Funds will support Phase 1 of the Gateway Gardens project, an important aspect to our quality of life
Gateway Gardens project incorporates art in public spaces
Funding for Parks & Recreation facilities and venues position Greensboro as an attractive place to live and work
Transportation Bond (Street Improvement) - $134 million
Funds to maintain and upgrade transportation infrastructure including streets, bridges, greenways, intersections, streetscapes and trails
Greensboro's trail and greenway system incorporates public art, provides alternative transportation avenues and promotes health and wellness
Funds will allow Greensboro to leverage critical state and federal grants as well as private funding
Greensboro's trail and greenway system add to our quality of life

What do you do on Sunday nights?

Greg: Playing with the toy he bought "for Clara."
(He would like for me to tell you that he bought it for $2).

Nicolle: seriously considering becoming a vegetarian while reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. Have you read this?... yikes!!!

P.S. Kelly tagged me (Nicolle) to post 6 quirks... here they are.
1. I always rinse my mouth 5 times after brushing my teeth... no more, no less.
2. I constantly tap a rhythm, with my hands, toes, teeth... anything, really. I don't usually realize I am doing it until Greg asks, "What song are you tapping?" Wierd, I know...
3. When I ride a roller coaster or a boogie board, I can't resist screaming... LOUDLY.
4. I am a germ-a-phobe. Hotel comforters freak me out the most... I never touch them.
5. I only remember movies I have seen for a short time... after two weeks, I have to ask Greg, "Have I seen this?"
6. I don't like talking on the phone, so I make Greg place all of our phone calls, then get mad at him when he doesn't say the right thing. I

Goodbye, Henry

For the past 3 1/2 years, I have worked with Henry Ingram, co-founder and Artistic Director of Music for a Great Space. Henry passed away on September 13. I'm not sure what this means for the future of MGS or my part in it.
Henry's memorial service was beautiful. As another co-worker of mine put it, "it made me wonder about my own orth/value/contribution that will exist when I leave this world. A little overwhelming, to be in the shadow of someone so generous, gracious and significant as Henry." He will be missed!

"Too" funny videos

A short recital:

Kissing Cousins:

PreSchool

by Nicolle:
Clara started preschool this month. She LOVES it! When I ask her in the morning if she wants to go to school, she RUNS to get her shoes. Once I went out of the neighborhood the back way and she cried and pointed in the other direction, saying "SCHOOL! Mommy, Pease (please)." Originally we signed her up for 2 mornings/week, but she has a really great teacher and is THRIVING, so we switched her to 3 mornings a week. After her first day, I asked her what she learned and she shouted "YELLOW." Oh, you learned about the color yellow, what else did you do? "BOOK." Oh, you read some books? "No, book" (and she showed me the sign language for book). Oh, you learned the sign for book, good girl!

Here she is with her tote bag all ready for school!

She is a little girl with a big personality and LOTS of energy, so this is a good outlet for her.

P.S. I ran in the http://www.womensonlyrun.com/ 5K this weekend. Lots of fun, especially with such a cute fan to watch the race and help me eat snacks aftewards. (Oh yeah, Greg is a cute fan, too).

Topsail Island

by Greg:

A photo of the fam from our beach house

For the last week, the Von Sherwood family singers took a little R&R at the beach with some of Nicolle's family. We had a great time and Greg will be spending the next 2 years trying to convince his family that Topsail Island is the place for the next Sherwood family reunion. Hopefully some of these pictures will do some of the convincing for him.

The view from our deck

Another nice little comparison:

September 1st - Pacific Beach, WA - Water Temp - 55 degrees

September 1st - San Diago, CA - Water Temp - 65 degrees

September 1st - Topsail Beach, NC - Water Temp - 80 degrees

Clara loved the ocean and the waves. She would run out into the water and would kick the waves as they would crash onto her.

She also liked digging in the sand, and then moving the sand in a toy truck

She was determined to get the sand transported

We got to body surf and boogie board. Nicolle's mother even went boogie boarding.

Here is the proof.

If you want to know how Clara felt about this place, just see the clip below. (The word she is repeating is "happy."

The week flew by and we are ready to go back soon. So anyone that wants to join us, just let us know.

Clara got Glasses

Clara has bad eye sight. You may ask, "Greg, how do you know a 19 month old girl needs glasses?" I will tell you.

Nicolle has taught Clara how to say "1 more." So now Clara raises her index finger to indicate that she would like ONE more."

Well, today I was giving Clara some of my dessert, and I say 1 more, then she says 1 more and indicates the number of bites of my dessert that she wants.."1".

After getting the bite, she then asks for another bite. My only answer to this is either she is a rickshaw driver from India or she is seeing double. Since she is not old enough to drive, she must have double vision.

I hope the glasses will help this problem go away.

PS I am joking, glasses can't cure double vision.

India Chapter 2

Nomadic shepherds

Cows wandering the city
LOTS of traffic and crazy driving
This year Greg has also been to Europe, South America, and Mexico. He says India gave him the most culture shock, BY FAR.

Some things he noticed:

-men peeing on the street... everywhere

-cows walking down city streets

-busy intersections with aggressive drivers and absolutely no rules

-you had to argue about cab/rickshaw prices, otherwise you get ripped off

-delicious food (curry, Tangier chicken, etc.)

-Men holding hands- its a cultural thing

-one motorcycle carrying a family of four

-the scaffolding on construction sites was made of bamboo tied together with rope
-a sign that said "no spitting: it causes diseases"
-the power goes off hourly

-Indians seem to be a very happy, helpful people
BACK AT HOME:

There was a huge rainstorm and our entire basement flooded... AHHH! Greg was half a world a way and feeling pretty helpless. THANK YOU to our heroes, Ben and Jeremy, who helped me move heavy stuff and get all of the water out and also to Erika, who played with Clara while we worked. We were very lucky that the damage and expense was minimal. Most of our neighbors fared much worse.

We are so happy that Greg made it home safe and sound, and just a little sick. :) Hooray for Labor Day and a long weekend so we can make up for the time we didn't get together last week.

India Chapter 1

Greg was in India last week and, boy, did we miss him. He visited the cities of Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore.

Here is a view from his hotel window in Mumbai

Here is a lady carrying stuff on her head, and the cool rickshaws (made famous on The Amazing Race)

Lots of garbage, everywhere

Clara's funny book, Chapter 2

Some more funny Clara moments...

"Heeewwo?" (Hello, for all of you that don't speak Clara's language)

3/08- (This one is old, but funny, so when I remembered it I had to include it). At Kindermusik, we all sit in a circle...moms with their babies in their laps. Clara has started making the rounds, taking turns sitting on each and every mom's lap. She stops about 5 feet in front of them, turns around, and walks balkwards wtih her bum out until she reaches the chosen lap.

7/5/08- While on vacation in Vancouver, Clara figured out how to climb out of her pack-n-play. I was on the other side of the wall (I think she forgot I was there). She was so excited to be free that she ran around to my side of the room, saw me... pretended she didn't see me... hoped that I didn't see her... and ran right back to her side, giggling all the while.

7/11/08- Clara loves to pick tomatoes out of our garden. One time I told her "no" because she was picking green tomatoes, so she said "back" and tried to put the tomato back on the plant. I have given up trying to stop her. Now she proudly brings me handfuls of green tomatoes (she calls them apples -or her version of tomato "ah-be-do") and mini green peppers. I also find them stashed in her favorite places around the backyard.

The harvester at work

Green tomatoes in the trunk of her car

... in the drink holder of a lawn chair

...and green peppers on the ledge of our porch.

7/20/08: Clara likes to sing... she makes up songs and the syllables are always "baaa-dooo-wa" or some combination like that.

7/23/08: Clara talks in her sleep. Today, Greg was leaving for a business trip at 3am and heard her softly and sweetly saying, "Mommmmy, Da-Da, Mommmmy, Da-da" while fully asleep.

7/25/08- Clara has started calling me "Mommina"- I have no idea why... doesn't it mean "little mother" in Italian? Maybe she picked up a few words in utero while we were in Italy.

7/29/08: She is getting more mischevious as she gets older. Today she found a loose piece of molding in our dining room and played with it. I asked her not to and I put it back. Fast forward 5 minutes... Clara noticed I was busy doing something, so she sneakily ran back to the dining room and pulled it down, again. When I followed her, she dropped the molding and ran. When I picked it up she shrugged her shoulders and said "Oh No"- (How did that happen, Mom?!?)

8/4/08: Clara LOVES to jump. Today when I left the room after putting her down for a nap she was jumping in her crib... she loves that bouncy mattress. I peaked in and she was so tired that her eyes were halfway closed, but she was saying "jump, jump, jump" and jumping as fast as she could (probably to keep herself awake). She would dive down face first to lie down and take a little break, then jump up and start over again... "jump, jump, jump."

8/7/08: She loves talking to her Daddy on the phone... here is their typical conversation.

8/15/08: We've been watching the women's gymnastics on the Olympics. Clara tried to copy some of their moves, and would hold her arms up like they do at the end of a routine. She even tried going down into the splits.

I am glad Tim Dagget is not my dad

I have been watching the Olympics this week and there is one thing that really bugs me. That thing is Tim Dagget. He is the announcer in gymnastics, and he is a gymnastic divo (male form of diva). Whenever there is something good going on or someone is having a olympic moment, there is Tim "Debbie Downer" Dagget to tell everyone what is wrong with the performance and how it could have been better.

Here is a perfect example:

Nastia Liukin just finished a great uneven bars.

2 other commentators: "Brilliant", "You will not see a higher score this Olympics"

Tim Dagget: "But it is not enough"

Thanks Tim.

Hey Tim, if I wanted to hear about the details of gymnastics, and how one should have .02 points deducted from their score because they did not point their pinky in the right place, then I would watch gymnastics more than just once every four years.

I would hate to be this guys son. Imagine coming home from school in first grade:

Son: "Dad, Dad, I just got A in my History test, the teacher has never given an A before."

Tim "I would have never won a gold in the team event had the Russians not boycotted the 84 games" Dagget: WHAT, YOU MISSED A QUESTION?!? HOW COULD YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO WAS THE LAST CREDITABLE FEDERALIST CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT IN 1816 (answer is Rufus King)???

Here are a couple of Dagget moments from the olympics:

• The Romanian women are struggling and their coach is trying to comfort them. Tim Dagget says: "The old coach would never hug the girls after such a horrible performance."


• When a guy was doing a move that he was almost paralized doing a couple weeks before, Tim Dagget says: "He is not going to do it, He is not going to do it. (He does the move) I can't believe he did it, he has not been able to do that move for a long time. He has either messed up or chickened out the last couple times."

It makes me wish John Tesh was still doing the olympics.

Summer of Sports

This summer I played on a YMCA soccer team with some friends. The league was supposed to be "co-ed," but most teams had zero girls on the field. I found myself running in circles and not being able to keep up with the stronger and faster men on the opposing teams. Since I wasn't contributing with my playing, at the end of the season I decided to contribute my husband, Greg, who scored 3 goals in the first game he played. Way to redeem our family, honey. Clara liked watching the games and by the end of the season had learned to say "soccer ball."

But... my other summer sport has been SO MUCH FUN!!!

I have been taking Tennis clinics... they are a blast and I hope to start playing in some beginner leagues this fall.

P.S. I am loving the Beijing Olympics... wasn't the opening ceremony awesome? Greg had to drag me away from the TV at midnight last night, while I was saying, "But they are about to talk about the US gymnasts with Bela Karolyi."