dun dun-dun-dun.....

DONE!

with school.

at long last... and I mean looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong last

I have mastered science.

a very particular, narrow branch of science.


Kudos to April for putting up with me for this long.

Ok. Bye.
  • snoopy
    YAY!!!
    by snoopy at 08/18/10 11:26PM
  • boromom
    CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!
    by boromom at 08/19/10 12:37AM
  • leaflady
    Congratulations, Tim! Well done! :) :) :)
    by leaflady at 08/19/10 1:06AM
  • snickers63
    Congratulations to both of you!!!
    by snickers63 at 08/19/10 1:36AM
  • lori_in_pa
    A little kitchen boogy-ing was performed here in your honor. Heartiest congratulations to you and your good wife!
    by lori_in_pa at 08/19/10 6:17AM
  • stevenswife
    Wonderful news--congratulations!!!!!
    by stevenswife at 08/19/10 7:43AM
  • missyaggie
    Congratulations! I know all of you are happy.
    by missyaggie at 08/19/10 7:43AM
  • ewalker
    YAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
    by ewalker at 08/19/10 10:29AM
  • autumn_rain
    Yay!! I'm so happy for you my very own brother in law!! :) CONGRATS!! :) :) :) :)
    by autumn_rain at 08/19/10 10:30AM
  • frappachino_girl
    CONGRATS!!!
    by frappachino_girl at 08/19/10 5:09PM
  • mayflower
    Congrats! :) Where to now?
    by mayflower at 08/19/10 7:12PM
  • nottoscale
    Your theme song of this post caused a frantic YouTube search on my end for the source of that distant tune from childhood... MacGyver? ... Perry Mason? ... Columbo? ... Matlock! ... no... but then Google saved the day:

    One of "Dragnet"'s most enduring imprints is the theme song, with its signature "dum de dum dum." Walter Schumann wrote the now-famous theme, which is also known as "Dragnet March" and "Danger Ahead."


    **warning: single expletive at 0:43**
    by nottoscale at 08/19/10 8:58PM
  • laurar209
    ^It's true. It did cause a frantic search and he was so excited to share the results with me after trying to make me guess the tune of the "dun dun"'s. That's when we realized I'd never, ever heard the song. Or the show.

    On a very related note (ha...ha), CONGRATULATIONS! I'm so SO glad and happy (isn't that redundant? it's still true) for you all!
    by laurar209 at 08/20/10 7:39AM
  • planethead
    Congratulations to you, Master, and to the rest of your family, too!
    by planethead at 08/20/10 8:28AM
  • tweedledee
    WAHOOOOO! You've dun it!!
    by tweedledee at 08/20/10 11:30AM
  • schmidtkins
    Congratulations! I know it has been hard on all of you... what is around the next bend, i wonder?
    by schmidtkins at 08/21/10 6:46PM
  • video_nana
    Congratulations!!
    by video_nana at 08/21/10 9:22PM
  • tjmeadows
    Good for you! Come celebrate in Texas and we will treat you and your family like royalty!
    by tjmeadows at 08/21/10 11:24PM
  • littlelamb
    Yay!!! Congratulations!!!
    by littlelamb at 08/22/10 10:20PM
  • larryandrosalie
    Way To GO!! Does that mean that you can finally come home for a visit? :o)
    by larryandrosalie at 08/23/10 6:23AM

Leila Lately

After we got into the car the other day and started to drive, Leila said "Let's get WINDY!"

When we get to a red light, Leila says "Oh no! We can't go to [insert destination, e.g., Bible class, home, the store]! Green light, please!" And then after it turns green, "Thank you!"

The other day she was saying that she was feeling sick, but we suspected that she was just really hungry. On our way to a restaurant, we passed a McDonalds and Leila (who likes to point out letters) said "I find a M!! Now I'm happy now! Now I'm not sick anymore!"

I asked her where she gets to go tomorrow...
"Park!"
"No, somewhere better than that."
"Playground!"
"No, somewhere better than that."
"Church!"
(The correct answer was Grand-mommy and Grand-daddy's house, but I'm glad she thinks church is a better place to go than the park.)

Along similar lines, last week on Wednesday, I think, April told Leila that we had to get ready to go to church. Leila said "Church? That's a good idea!"

Ok. Bye.
  • aleta
    Good idea to record these gems!
    by aleta at 05/18/10 9:02AM
  • sarahphim
    One of Phoebe's favorite things to say if she likes something is, "That's a good deal!"
    by sarahphim at 05/18/10 9:54AM
  • thewifeofbud
    So sweet!
    by thewifeofbud at 05/18/10 10:45AM
  • cbonk
    I wish we could see her. She's such a cutie!!
    by cbonk at 05/18/10 12:11PM
  • tjmeadows
    Since I don't get to see you guys, I really appreciate getting to know Leila better via pleo!
    by tjmeadows at 05/18/10 12:28PM
  • _sylviaanne_
    I hope I could meet her sometime in the future!
    by _sylviaanne_ at 05/18/10 12:50PM
  • comade
    Love it.
    by comade at 05/18/10 2:41PM
  • tweedledee
    Precious!
    by tweedledee at 05/18/10 4:39PM
  • scbrewer
    Love it!!
    by scbrewer at 05/19/10 6:30PM
  • jlmanager
    Nice!
    by jlmanager at 05/19/10 8:36PM
  • a_starr
    Awww.... what a sweetie! Hug her from Aunta Maimy, please?
    (Oh, and please pronounce the "u" in Aunta!)
    by a_starr at 05/20/10 2:14PM
  • weekendsongservice
    good girl.
    by weekendsongservice at 05/22/10 1:48PM
  • jaydon
    Loved seeing that cutie on Friday - you are very blessed....but I'm pretty sure you know that!
    by jaydon at 05/23/10 12:09AM
  • marmee
    I saw your sweet wife and met that beautiful baby at the wedding last Friday! You are a blessed man. :)
    by marmee at 05/23/10 7:15AM
  • mjintexas
    So stinkin' cute.
    by mjintexas at 05/24/10 12:03PM
  • mtnest
    Cute. =)
    by mtnest at 05/24/10 10:25PM
  • leaflady
    Aww, - I love what comes out of the mouths of babes - especially the ones who are being raised to love the Lord. I'm glad you're keeping a record of these precious moments.
    by leaflady at 05/26/10 1:33PM
  • larryandrosalie
    So-o-o sweet!!
    by larryandrosalie at 06/02/10 6:03AM
  • enyek
    Save these Tim!! You think you'll remember every little Leila-ism, but you won't!
    by enyek at 06/07/10 9:25AM
  • spike427
    so cute!
    by spike427 at 07/08/10 2:01PM

According to a recent study...

A recent study concludes that 81.32% of recent comments on my blog have been made by women. This suggests that females read my blog more than males by a staggering ratio of 4.35:1. Possible conclusions include:

a) actual readership is closer to a 50/50 split between the genders, but women are 4 times more likely to leave a comment.

b) my blog generally doesn't appeal to men.

c) men generally have better things to do than read my blog. Women come for stories/pictures/videos of Leila.

Further research is needed to determine the gender ratio of the entire Pleonast population and see if it explains some of the disparity. But for now: Thank you, ladies, for your participation; And guys... let me hear you!

Ok. Bye.
  • august28rose
    Ditto :)
    by august28rose at 03/20/10 7:40PM
  • thewifeofbud
    Totally reason c! Just kidding....
    by thewifeofbud at 03/21/10 2:50PM
  • gokulives
    Honestly, I think the reason is primarily C, although "better" might be the wrong word...
    The statistics for all social networking sites show women to be the majority of visitors/readers/contributors.

    Here's how we solve that:
    For each blog, post a picture/video of steak and something shiny, expensive and fast or blowing up. I'd be all up ons...
    by gokulives at 03/21/10 2:53PM
  • laurar209
    by laurar209 at 03/22/10 7:05AM
  • jlmanager
    I note that you didn't include D) All of the Above. Not that it's needed, I'm sure... ;)
    by jlmanager at 03/22/10 1:44PM
  • spike427
    :D
    by spike427 at 03/22/10 5:00PM
  • chris_r
    Courtney told me to get on here and represent the male population.

    Here I am.
    by chris_r at 03/22/10 10:13PM
  • raifid
    I am reading your blog. And commenting...but only because Amy is reading over my shoulder.
    by raifid at 03/23/10 11:36PM
  • angel_of_music
    HAHA this made me laugh
    by angel_of_music at 03/25/10 1:12PM
  • planethead
    You should count all the comments that weren't made. That would help.
    by planethead at 03/25/10 6:04PM
  • nycami
    Just dropping by and saying hi, to keep your statistics in tact!
    by nycami at 03/31/10 7:51AM
  • humankumquat
    HEY TIM, HEY
    by humankumquat at 04/04/10 3:16PM
  • humankumquat
    LET'S HAVE AN ARM WRESTLING TOURNAMENT, OR SOME OTHER MANLY ACTIVITY
    by humankumquat at 04/04/10 3:17PM
  • humankumquat
    ALSO LET'S WATCH MONSTER TRUCKS. AND USE INSUFFICIENT PUNCTUATION
    by humankumquat at 04/04/10 3:17PM
  • stevespringer
    Hey Tim, I thought that I would post something on your blog to try to influence your data!
    by stevespringer at 04/06/10 5:43AM
  • mjintexas
    I'm amused. :)
    by mjintexas at 04/07/10 2:42PM
  • redmartineau
    One man, checking-in!
    by redmartineau at 04/11/10 5:15PM
  • slave_of_jesus_jdb
    Or, maybe your wife has more female friends on pleo than you have male friends and you have entered their radar because you are her husband.
    by slave_of_jesus_jdb at 04/14/10 6:12PM
  • sarahphim
    We miss you guys SO much. I wish we could get together for some LOST and coffee and kid watching. I have a feeling that Leila and Phoebe would be quite a pair.
    by sarahphim at 04/14/10 11:14PM
  • octaveleaper
    My brother-in-law Jason (Lisa's husband) made a stereo surround out of duct tape. I thought you'd enjoy that.
    by octaveleaper at 05/11/10 3:05PM

Baby Charlotte

Last night/today, we got to meet our niece Charlotte for the first time. What a treasure!
Half the time she looked like this:



And the rest of the time she looked like this:



What a doll.

Ok. Bye.
  • frappachino_girl
    she is so cute!!!!
    by frappachino_girl at 03/14/10 11:14AM
  • comade
    aaawwww!!!
    by comade at 03/14/10 1:10PM
  • thewifeofbud
    She is just too cute!
    by thewifeofbud at 03/14/10 1:48PM
  • boromom
    She is so sweet! Wish we could have seen her too. Leaving tomorrow to go meet her newest cousin. :-)
    by boromom at 03/14/10 3:56PM
  • tweedledee
    ADORABLE!!! GLad you got to see her!!
    by tweedledee at 03/14/10 4:03PM
  • schmidtkins
    She DOES look like a doll! Beautiful happy baby! Can't wait to meet all the little ones I haven't met! We are hoping to get up there this summer!
    by schmidtkins at 03/14/10 10:50PM
  • tess
    LOVE those pictures...so cute!
    by tess at 03/15/10 12:14PM
  • scbrewer
    Shes so cute!
    by scbrewer at 03/15/10 9:29PM
  • mr_and_mrs_berry
    Oh Tim - she makes me chuckle and laugh just looking at her picture! What a dear!
    by mr_and_mrs_berry at 03/15/10 9:47PM
  • laurar209
    She looks like an absolute sweetheart of a little baby! So glad you all getting some time together. :)
    by laurar209 at 03/15/10 10:48PM
  • mjintexas
    Sooooo cute!!
    by mjintexas at 03/16/10 11:52AM
  • sarahphim
    Wow! She is adorable!
    by sarahphim at 03/16/10 12:17PM

New Laptop!

I bought a new laptop online Sunday night, and I think it's going to arrive today. So excited!

I'm going to name it Penryn after the Intel codename for it's processor. Penryn is replacing Coppermine, and if you compare the specs of the two, you can see what an improvement that is. I was tempted to buy an Arrandale, but decided to spend 30% less money and settle for "much, much better" instead of "much, much, much, much better". Hopefully it won't be too long before we can replace the trusty old Northwood in the living room with a Clarksfield or something like that.

This segue serves as a smooth transition from one topic to the next.

We all know that the word "you" is perfectly capable of being plural all by itself, right? And some of our southern cultured friends use the term "y'all" to reference a plurality, which is fine, I guess, but not my style. And I've even heard tales of "y'all" being used to address one single individual! (please excuse my redundancy... "single" was not a comment on their marital status) But have you ever heard of "you'ns"? It's a contraction of "you" and "ones". You ones. Youones. You'ns. It's sometimes pronounced "youns" (one syllable) and sometimes "you-ins" (two syllables). They even conjugate it into "we'ns" and "us'ns"! It boggles my mind. But even more mind-boggley is what I heard someone say the other day... a contraction of contractions... a pluralized plurality... they said "you'ns'all". You ones all. I don't know how that could possibly NOT mean every single person in the entire world.

All y'all you'ns'all have a good night.

Ok. Bye.
  • mtnest
    I grew up in southern Indiana. I had one aunt that said "you'ns" and her kids picked it up. She also grew up in the area, so I guess it she picked it up from her parents.


    by mtnest at 02/17/10 6:58AM
  • 7laughinghardmans
    You should teach! Your students would love your style and humor, it's contagious. :)

    by 7laughinghardmans at 02/17/10 7:46AM
  • 7laughinghardmans
    I'm talking about a public educator. College professor, perhaps?
    by 7laughinghardmans at 02/17/10 9:25AM
  • aleta
    And then there's yous-guys, pronounced "yoose-guys", in the Missouri and surrounding areas.
    by aleta at 02/17/10 9:58AM
  • mattmanua
    Putting that little tax credit of yours to good use I see.
    by mattmanua at 02/17/10 10:00AM
  • technologicalsophomore
    Nice all-purpose segue -- may I borrow the technique? And by borrow, I mean "steal, but ask first, then go ahead whether permission is granted or not."
    by technologicalsophomore at 02/17/10 10:07AM
  • technologicalsophomore
    No names, but I know someone who has been heard to use the term "you'ns guys" - which kind of sounds PA Dutch by way of Brooklyn, but far as I know, he's never even been to New York state, let alone Brooklyn.
    by technologicalsophomore at 02/17/10 10:10AM
  • leaflady
    Have you ever heard someone say, "Done did"? As in, "He done did his homework..." Do they mean that he did it & now he's "done", or that he already did it? Or are they being "re'DONE'dant" for emphasis, or perhaps reDONE DIDant? :)

    Enjoy your new laptop!
    by leaflady at 02/17/10 12:30PM
  • holly_ann
    How about yous?
    by holly_ann at 02/17/10 12:33PM
  • lromanic
    This post made me laugh! It made me think of one of the characters in the book "Christy" who was named "Little Guy" but in the movie they called him "Least'un" :)
    by lromanic at 02/17/10 12:43PM
  • humankumquat
    bahaha! this is hilarious!
    i must admit, i've always been strongly against "you'ns". it makes me sad.
    that contraction of contractions reminds me of some other startlingly redundant phrases people use...such as "Best BFFs forever!"
    by humankumquat at 02/17/10 2:29PM
  • crysnrob
    Too funny.
    by crysnrob at 02/18/10 12:28AM
  • tjmeadows
    Missy's favorite expression (because it drives all you E. Tn'ians nuts) is "fixin' to". You'all know that means "I am gonna do it or gettin' ready to do something. I agree that you should be a teacher. It would have to be high school because the younger ones would never know what you were talking about!
    by tjmeadows at 02/18/10 11:14AM
  • schmidtkins
    I love those kinds of cultural friendly-isms. When I was younger, the GRAMMAR lady in me couldn't stomach it, but the older I get, the more I embrace it. It's not only fun, but an education in the diversity of culture we Americans share! Love this post!
    by schmidtkins at 02/18/10 10:20PM
  • tweedledee
    I love to use y'all for a less formal address but I ALWAYS mean a plurality. What I can't believe is how you even understood what the speaker was saying... almost sounds like a foreign language! =D
    by tweedledee at 02/19/10 9:44AM
  • remark_93
    my laptop has two names

    Female: Adel (lol)

    Male: Robert (idk... i kinda like the name... reminds me of "Raymond")

    by remark_93 at 02/25/10 9:59AM
  • shadders05
    yeah, people where my parents live (somerset KY) all say that "you'ns. "
    by shadders05 at 02/25/10 6:04PM
  • mjintexas
    I say "you guys." :)
    by mjintexas at 03/01/10 6:01PM
  • mayflower
    Clearly not a southerner.
    Female name for when it's good, male name for when it has behavior problems?
    by mayflower at 03/02/10 9:29AM
  • sarahphim
    Ha! :)
    by sarahphim at 03/07/10 9:52PM