Temecula Trip

We just took Nathan on his first ever trip/vacation and he was amazing throughout the whole weekend. We were a little nervous about how he would take the 6.5 hour drive to Temecula (normally 5-5.5 hours, but we were expecting a few baby stops. No, not small stops, like baby steps, but stops to tend to the baby, you know feeding, diaper changes, that sort of thing). But to our amazement and delight, Nathan was perfect. He sat in his little car seat either sleeping or looking around the whole way. Even when he was a little fussy it was only for a few minutes when we were looking to stop for lunch and he was getting hungry. Even during the wedding he was a calm, happy baby and instead of loud crying at bedtime (which he has been known to do) he simply fell asleep, even with the loud wedding music playing. I don't know what everyone is talking about, this baby thing is cake! (knock on wood and all that stuff so as to not offend the karma guy from high atop the thing)

This was also our first time to Temecula, heading out there for one of my best friend's wedding at Falkner Winery. And since we enjoy wine country, we stayed an extra day to do a little wine touring. But first the rehersal dinner and wedding.

Rehearsal at the winery: Nathan rehearsing his crawling while daddy rehearses walking down an imaginary aisle.

Nathan enjoying the winery

"Fake grass? But it feels so real!"

"ASU!! ASU!!"

So we didn't think Nathan could get any cuter, and then we put him in his little ASU jacket and took turns squeezing him to bits.

Friday night at the wedding:


And then we put him in his little red vest and took turns squeezing him to pieces.

In the hotel room (obvisouly):

Don't you just want to pick him up and squeeze him?

Winery Picnic:

We only visited two wineries on Saturday. Normally (as in the few times we've been to Napa/Sonoma) we hit 4-5 wineries per day, but we figured we would need to cut back to accomodate the teenie guy and stay relaxed. Also, we usually plan a winery picnic during our tour because, well, it's fun, we get hungry, it helps to sober us up, and it refreshes our palate for the next round of tastings. So to continue with our tradition, we picnicked on the picturesque hill atop which sits Cougar Winery. Picturesque, beacause, well I took this picture. A little arid, but still not a bad way to enjoy some grub with the teenie guy. The wines were so-so, but we did pick up a rosé that was surprisingly good.

The other winery we visited was Ponte, which turned out to be better than our first impression. I say that because as we entered it was packed and looked very commercial, which in our experience tends to coincide with a lack of personality and character and when tasting wine, we like a little character. But we bellied up to the bar at the right place because our server was friendly, knowledgeable and engaging. On top of that the wines were pretty good too. We each had 6 tastings and the bartender offered generous pours, which was fine since we had planned to eat an early dinner there anyway.

If you are considering a trip to wine country, Temecula provides a great value as it is a short drive away and offers a variety of unique wines that you will not find anywhere else, mainly because the wineries are fairly small and are not sold anywhere else. So if you've never been I would recommend a visit.

You Can't Stop Him, You Can Only Hope To Contain Him

"Me and my castle"

So our teenie guy has been mobile for about a month now and he keeps getting better, stronger, faster. We originally set up little speed bumps when he was just rolling around and those seemed to work well - he would just roll and stop. Then he would go the other way. Then, he learned to crawl and he would crawl up to them and contemplate what to do. Sometimes he would manage to figure out how to get past them. Since they were just velcroed to the floor, he sometimes kicked them loose or crawled up to them, grabbed them, and ripped them loose, holding the bumper in the air in celebration before seeing something else, getting distracted and rushing after the new object. Which brings us to now...

"Me in my castle, a.k.a. The Fun Zone"

I want to be over there and nothing will stop me, grrrrr. Except when we accidentally rolled out of control onto the tile and waaaAAAAAHHHHHHHH! That wasn't very fun, but darn it, I still want to go that way. So we had to buy this lovely little baby gate to contain him.

"Hey, that looks interesting!"

And what does he do? He starts to pull himself up!!! Seriously, stick with crawling for a bit. It can't be old yet, you just started. Savor the moment, enjoy it for a while. But no, Nathan wants to stand, so every chance he gets he tries to pull himself up. It's kind of funny too, every time he gets standing he looks around for us and then smiles really big like, "Look at me!!! Look what I can do! Hee hee."

"Look mommy, one hand!"

And of course the baby gate is just short enough to leave a small opening, just enough for crawl through. And guess who should happen to find it immediately and ever since be automatically be drawn to it like it has its own magnetic pull?

"I'm FREE!!!"

And speaking of magnetic pull...Nathan can seem to find any and every little hazard that we should have baby proofed for. And not only that, the stuff we can't move or block just yet, he remembers where it is. I thought that it was "out of sight, out of mind" for the first year. But, no, once he found the speaker cord and realized how wonderful it tasted (kind of like french vanilla ice-cream, I suppose) he heads straight for it. I will pick him up and put him back in the fun zone and he is immediately off and crawling through the opening, around the sofa, and behind the speaker until it's back in his tiny little hand. I think he has a little map somewhere...

And he's getting faster too, he can now cross the room about as fast as I can. So whereas we used to have time to put him at one end of the room and make a sandwich (while still watching him, of course) before he could get into any trouble. Now, he's crawling out of the room with us, side by side. So he has been keeping us on our toes.

Sonoma too. Now that he is mobile he enjoys chasing Sonoma around. Luckily for Sonoma, she is faster than all of us, but I'm sure she gets sick of moving all the time to escape the little fur grabber.

Review #4: The Beatles - Beatles For Sale

Okay, seriously, who buys beetles? I mean, really, that's just gross. Unless you are referring to these guys, but still, c'mon, look at their hair, it looks like...like...kids today. Get a haircut!

Anyhoo...fresh back from Hollywood, the Beatles released album number 4 just in time for Christmas 1964. So, let's see, that's what, another 5 months after that last album. hmmm, I'm thinking this might be a little rushed. And when checking the Wiki-man, yep, 6 covers all in an effort to hit stores for the holiday shopping season. And who doesn't love a good sale?

Judging by the cover, these guys are either tired or starting to get serious. And since it's their 4th album in 21 months, I'm going with tired. Let's see how they did.

1. No Reply - The album starts off on a somber note - John's girl is avoiding him and no wonder, it sounds like he's stalking her - peaking through her window and calling all the time. A nice bouncy tune with a little pinch of crazy; and then it ends abruptly.


2. I'm a Loser - After losing his girl in the previous song, John loses a little self-esteem, though with some nice voice inflections, I might add.


3. Baby's in Black - I am going to assume that Lennon is mourning his girl from the first song, probably after John killed her in a bout of depression he suffered in song two. It's fairly short, likely to prevent John from incriminating himself. I didn't care for this so much.


4. Rock and Roll Music - Now this is more like it. Lennon again jacks Chuck Berry, but this time doesn't seem to care if he breaks the song or not - he's out to prove something here. Or maybe he is just partying after stalking and killing his last girlfriend and getting away with it.


5. I'll Follow the Sun - Slowing it down here, but with a nice melody. Apparently it only takes 1 minute and 49 seconds to break up with your girlfriend to wander aimlessly around the world hoping that she'll figure out what she's lost, though by then you're both alone...poor Paul.


6. Mr. Moonlight - What the hell is this crap?


7. Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey - They apparently combined two songs as an ode to a city I doubt they ever visited.


8. Eight Days a Week - A nice fade in to a classic track to make up for the last two songs. I've always liked how the chorus slows down a bit. Word on the street is that Lennon refused to play this song live as he didn't like it, probably because it was a love song and not a stalking, freak-out-your-lover song.


9. Words of Love - Covering Buddy Holly this time and not too badly either. At least they are not afraid to show their personality anymore.


10. Honey Don't - Ringo again draws the short straw and gets stuck with this miserable excuse for a song. I think the bad thing about covering songs from the '50s is that they are lacking any resemblence of an actual verse and just repeat the chorus or song title over and over again.


11. Every Little Thing - The instrumental is far better than the lyrics here.


12. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party - Yet they do with this song.


13. What You're Doing - hmmm, I could have sworn this was just on.


14. Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby - Apparently George's contract stipulated that he will get to sing more songs than Ringo so they added this cover to finish off the album and shut him the hell up.

Overall, John sounds depressed on this album as his girl leaves him, he decides that he's a loser, (probably kills her), and by the end of the album his date stands him up at a party. So much for Beatlemania. Paul even leaves his girl for the sweet warmth of the Sun and after working 8 days a week, it's no wonder the album cover shows them sad and a little pissed off. Maybe they were really having a fire sale to rid the shelves of the crap before creating better albums. The first half sucks (to put it nicely) and the second half starts nicely before taking a turn for the worse so unless you enjoy feeling like crap, I'd say pass on this album as your "best of" disc (that you bought to avoid album #2) will have the good songs from this album too.

Happy Birthday, Sonoma!!!

Our little baby puppy is turning four today. I can't believe she is already four. I can still remember bringing her home, how tiny she was, back when Laura could still carry her (I still can, but at 75 lbs, not very far). She has adjusted well to having a little brother around who I'm sure will begin to torment her more and more as he gets more mobile. As it is, now that Nathan can crawl, he chases her around the room, but luckily he's not too quick yet, allowing Sonoma to slowly move away. Once he's old enough, I'm sure they will have fun playing together, we'll just have to teach both of them how to not share their toys.

Review #3: The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

Five months later and another Beatles album. Either no other bands existed at this time, or these guys were popular and talented enough to create compelling material, though after the last album...

Album #3 is actually a soundtrack to a film of the same name, likely to capitalize on Beatlemania and make a quick buck - why else would you cast 4 guys with no acting experience in a movie? Surprisingly, the film was nominated for two Oscars, one of which is for writing. Also of note, it was "the first Beatles album to feature entirely original compositions," according the the always correct Wikipedia (the main source for my Beatles info). The title was the brainchild of Ringo in a Yogi Berra moment (without the wit or intention), later to be continued with the song 8 Days A Week, and I assume the coining the phrase "giving 110%."

Again, a short album without a single song breaking the 3 minute mark. I guess that's what happens when you only have a few days rest between albums. This album was also the first 4 track recording for the Beatles, so feel free to cop the stereo version if you don't have a soul and want to wipe your muddy feet on the art that the Beatles created.

1. A Hard Day's Night - Things kick off nicely here with one of their more recognizable songs, that appears to be about coming home to your flat and shagging your gal. Is that a cowbell I hear? More cowbell, I need more cowbell!


2. I Should Have Known Better - I could take it or leave it. On a side note, Wikipedia says John had a little hissy fit about his harmonica during the recording of this song.


3. If I Fell - A warm and fuzzy love song with a nice melody. Unlike the cover songs on the first two albums, this feels like they are feelin' it. All in all, it's okay. For those of you who care, "this was also Kurt Cobain's favourite Beatles song" or so says the wiki-man (with an extra "u" too be snooty).


4. I'm Happy Just to Dance with You - Mood and lyrics fit - a happy, bouncy tune that picks up the momentum, though the lyrics are quite basic.


5. And I Love Her - One of my favorite Beatles songs, of course the guitar solo in the middle kind of sounds like someone is learning to play, in my opinion.


6. Tell Me Why - The momentum picks back up, with John interograting his crying girlfriend (or wife) as to why she lied (or he lied if you assume he's talking to himself to confess about his cheating). There's a weird Peanuts cartoon-sounding section about half way in that doesn't really fit.


7. Can't Buy Me Love - Another classic Beatles song spawning numerous covers, a movie (not theirs), and a collectible lunch box. As noted by Wikipedia, this song has the opposite meaning of their last money song, Money (That's What I Want). But after 1 year, 3 albums, tours, and a movie I would assume that they have money now and realize its limitations. Or to further the analysis, the song Money (That's What I Want) was a cover so not their true feelings, but this song they wrote which may reflect their actual views. No?


8. Any Time at All - Keeps the energy going even with Lennon's unsual pronunciation of "at all" as "uh TAll." Must be a British thing.


9. I'll Cry Instead - ehh.


10. Things We Said Today - This song caught my attention and may be my 4th favorite on the album behind the 3 that made the greatest hits. This song seems to have more depth to it - I enjoyed the instrumental shifts and changes in tempo.


11. When I Get Home - According to my iTunes player, this song was just on.


12. You Can't Do That - John's big threat to his girl talking to another guy: "I'll let you down." Ooo, I'm scared. Unless in British English it means something else. Beyond this, it reveals a controlling Lennon "I told you before, you can't do that." No, no ladies, control yourself, he's all mine. (I think there might be cowbell in here, too.)


13. I'll Be Back - After the previous song, I'm a little creeped out when Lennon says, "I'm the one who wants you." I think he might try to stalk someone at this point. Sequnced differently, I might like this one.

This album feels more like an album versus a collection of songs as the first half seems to follow a love theme (well I guess the whole album does), though the interwebs suggest that the "concept" album wasn't yet invented by the Beatles, so I credit the cohesiveness of the soundtrack to attempting to follow the theme of the movie (which I haven't seen). However, it was nominated for an Oscar for its writing so I have to assume that there's a story to follow in there somewhere.

While the good songs outweigh the bad, this album is still just average in my opinion. Of the three albums reviewed thus far, with is on par with their debut. If you are inclined to pick this one up you should know the stereo version of this album doesn't have the left/right feel to it, so either mono or stereo works well, maybe more so on the stereo side since it sounds cleaner (which should help if you have dirty feet).

The Beatles - with the beatles

So this is the UK version, the U.S. version was titled meet the beatles and released a couple months later with an altered track listing. According to Wikipedia: "released on 22 November 1963, the same day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated." I imagine it didn't do so well that first week, but then again, Jay-Z's The Blueprint was released on 9/11/01 and sold half a million copies the first week. Okay, so it was released in the UK in 1963 so they sold about 500k. The U.S. release came a few months later as Meet The Beatles.

So after their first album, they decided to take a whole four months off before recording this album. I imagine the 7.5 pounds they earned wasn't enough for them to go on holiday any longer. Again, a short album, with the longest song only 3 seconds longer than their previous record (no pun). Initially, this sounded like the album picked up in the middle of a song...suddenly, John is yelling at me that it won't be long (I know, your previous album was released just a few months ago, geez). I'd hate to see these guys the day before Christmas. Man, don't they have any patience?

This album had 8 original songs and six covers - let's see how they did...

1. It Won't Be Long - John does a decent job with this, but overall it's just average as they try to kick off the album with some energy.


2. All I've Got To Do - At this point I still can't tell John and Paul apart, but this song is better than the previous one, maybe because it sounds a bit more like Paul singing in my opinion.


3. All My Loving - Paul goes solo with probably the best song on the album.


4. Don't Bother Me - George takes the lead here with an average song that does nothing for me, in fact it kind of bothered me a bit. The music doesn't really fit the mood of the lyrics. The instrumental is just a bit too happy while George tries to sound...depressed?


5. Little Child - Apparently, John wants to dance with some little child - not sure what the point of this song is. In fact, he kind of sounds like that strange uncle who is a bit too friendly until he scares them away with his harmonica. Pass.


6. Till There Was You - First of 3 covers in a row - continuing the tradition of the previous album with a lack of passion (though, again, having never heard the original, maybe this is how it's supposed to sound).


7. Please Mister Postman - The Beatles cover the first number 1 hit single for Motown - always a crowd pleaser. Nice job with this, but I prefer the original, mainly because of the background vocals.


8. Roll Over Beethoven - Sticking with their cover band roots, they jack Chuck Berry this time. Not bad but they sing this like they're borrowing it and don't want to break it. Chuck Berry sings it like he owns it, which he does. It does a nice job keeping the energy high in the middle of the album though.


9. Hold Me Tight - This was a reject from Please Please Me and should have been a reject here too. Paul sounds like he's fighting his way through this one. I wonder if this would sound better with a little AutoTune featuring T-Pain?


10. You Really Got A Hold On Me - After the previous song, this sounds a bit better than it actually is. Pass.


11. I Wanna Be Your Man - Ringo was hoping to redeem himself in case people misunderstood his previous ode to boys. I think he goes a bit overboard. Quite repetative too, as I think he repeats the title 98 times. Were verses not invented yet?


12. Devil In Her Heart - Another cover that seems to drag on and it's only 2:30. It's like he's on a first date or an interview on his best behavior before allowing his personality to come out.


13. Not A Second Time - This seems a bit ironic to me as this album feels like a second version of their first, but minus the good songs.


14. Money (That's What I Want) - A cover song trying hard to be this album's version of Twist and Shout. Also this may be just them explaining that they were just trying to capitalize on the success of the first album and put this out to make a quick buck - seriously you only put 4 months work into this effort, it kind of shows.

I think they may have had a little sophmore slump going on, but then again, they only had 4 months so was do you expect. Speaking of which, over the course of about 8 years, they released 13 albums. In today's market, I doubt anyone would expect solid material on all those albums. In fact I'd bet the reviews would be horrendous if today's most popular artists dropped an album every 6 months. So 13 albums in 8 years, I'd expect them to be a bit watered down. Though since everyone raves about The Beatles, maybe they are the one group that can pull this off, but so far it is looking doubtful unless they continue to fill their albums with covers, but let's be honest, how far can that really take you?

Unless you love cover bands, but hate going to bars, I'd say pass on this one. In the end, you can find the highlights on a "Best of" disc that you'll probably need to buy anyway if you want to get all of the hit singles that never made the albums.

Happy 6 Months!!!

Nathan is 6 months old today! And as a special treat, he got his next round of shots, poor baby. It's always so sad to see him go silent, face turn red, just waiting for him to catch his breath before screaming. Amazingly, it only lasts about a minute or so before he's over it.

As you saw below he is crawling, and in case you missed it, he also has two lower teeth and is working on two on the top to match. He must be going for the set.