Kaelyn Feeding Herself

Here's a short clip of my niece Kaelyn feeding herself with baby cereal. You'll notice that she's a lefty!

Banana Republic Luxe Card

In my opinion, one of the best store-affiliated credit cards out there is the Banana Republic Luxe card. Luxe cardholders receive a $25 reward each time 500 points is accumulated on their cards. Luxe customers earn one point for every dollar that is charged except during double points week, when the bonus doubles to two points for every dollar spent. This translates to essentially 5% cash back on clothing purchases, which is among the best out there for store-affiliated cards.

Other benefits include free alterations, free online shipping, and use of a “concierge” agent when shopping over the phone. The best part is that the card can also be used at the Gap, Old Navy, and Piperlime and you accumulate points on the same rate as you would at Banana Republic. So our strategy has been to shop at the Gap and Old Navy and cash in the $25 reward at Banana Republic. I just cashed in one last night and got a cashmere V-neck sweater for $20!

Week 31

The nursery is going along pretty good. I added two more shelves to the closet and re-patched and repainted it. We also bought several container baskets for the closet. You can never have enough storage space! Will have pictures as the room gets closer to completion.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

Bought Wario Ware: Smooth Moves for the Wii and so far we've been having a lot of fun with it. Its collection of "microgames" has you on your toes the whole time, trying to figure out in less than 5 seconds what you are supposed to do to move on. My favorite microgame so far is one where you have to navigate the Wii remote to pick a nose!

On a related note, we've been having a lot of fun with the Wii. My parents were here this weekend and they had a lot of fun with it as well. It definitely appeals to all age groups. In less than 5 minutes non-gamers can be playing Wii tennis, it's that easy to pick up. Creating the Miis is really entertaining as well.

New Curio

Our new curio was finally delivered this afternoon. We bought a curio to display our small collection of souvenirs from our travels: custom made Murano glass from Italy, handcrafted religious icons from the Riviera Maya in Mexico, a hand painted color tile from Kaua'i, a couple of dancing maidens from Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and knick knacks such as a couple of Swarovski crystal critters and our Tiffany crystal toasting champagne glasses that we used at our wedding.

The curio perfectly matches our existing decor as we purchased it from a local furniture store, where we also got our other stuff. It also neatly comes with a light at the top to illuminate the souvenirs. It's a nice touch.

Week 30

Can't believe that we're getting close! We attended our first baby class this week. The Baby Care Basics class taught us how to swaddle, diaper, bathe, and take care of baby. It was interesting, but we already knew how to do some of the stuff because we've had some practice with Kaelyn.

Oh yeah, he also is moving and kicking alot!

Nintendo Wii

Purely on impulse, we picked up a Nintendo Wii console bundle from Costco last night. We had been eyeing the Wii for a bit here and there but were not really serious on buying it until recently. Needless to say, it is a very fun experience! Within 10 minutes of setting it up we were already wirelessly connected to the Internet and trying to hit baseballs out of the park.

The Costco bundle comes with two games, Excite Truck and the Legend of Zelda. The system itself comes with a Wii remote, a Nunchuk attachment, and the Wii Sports game, which includes tennis, baseball, boxing, bowling, and golf. Games are displayed in 480p resolution.

It's a family friendly system and I can see the Wii serving as a centerpiece for entertaining friends and family of all ages. It's a totally different and radical video gaming experience. We just have to remember to stretch properly before playing Wii Sports!

Dogeaters

Last night, we attended a showing of Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters at the Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City. Set in the Philippines during the reign of Marcos, the play follows the coming-of-age stories of a movie-obsessed girl from an upper-middle-class family and a poor Afro-Filipino hustler.

Set in 1982, Dogeaters is a realistic portrait of the Philippines - complete with the tragedy, corruption, melodramatic characters, as well as the people's resilience and idealism that prevail in the end. No Pinoy should miss it. And for non-Filipinos, the play was a great way to understand the complex culture that goes beyond Imelda's shoes.

Week 29

Tomorrow we are going on a tour of Long Beach Memorial, where Lediya will be delivering.