The Fabulous B@ker Blog

A new picture of Jackson. So cute!

A warm welcome to our newest family member (and first family baby since Annalisse ), Jackson Peng -Li Shiao . Jackson is the son of Mark's youngest brother David and his wife, Amanda. We are so excited for Amanda and Dave, and can't wait to meet our new nephew/cousin. Unfortunately, that will probably have to wait because they will be in Turkey for another year-and-a-half. Who knows? Maybe they'll make a trip back for a visit - then we get to babysit! It was so awesome to get a picture of him so soon - isn't the Internet great?!

Three of my neighbors are involved in a self-published memoir entitled " Seven Women, Seven Lives ." It's a collection of essays that grew out of a memoir writing class originally held at Nazareth College. For several years now, the seven women have met to work on their stories, and their book was published in the Spring. They will be having a book signing at Starbucks in Victor (across from Eastview Mall) on Thursday, January 31 from 7-9pm. Congratulations again to Ann, Donna and Elaine, plus their fellow writing companions, for their great accomplishment!

If you've read my blog, you know that (so far) I have listed the First (the iPod ), Second (fat-free half-and-half), and Third (the Tide stick) Greatest Inventions Ever . Now, for the First Most Terrible Invention Ever: wallpaper . Why is it that every house we have moved into (this is our third, and our second "old" house) has rooms and rooms of wallpaper that I hate and can't wait to get off? ~that's a rhetorical question - don't bother trying to answer. There is nothing like a freshly painted room that can be repainted when the mood strikes a couple of years down the line. So, this week begins my (new) quest to get some of that wallpaper off these walls and move onto the cornflower, moss, taupe, and light maroon walls I so desperately crave. Our bedroom and the living/dining room is covered with a textured bamboo wallpaper that is great at hiding flaws and dirt but not so great at looking modern. Our room, especially, has wallpaper that is dark gold and so ...

Well, it's come to this. We've started vacuuming Jasper. You would not believe the amount of hair this dog puts off (it didn't seem like our other Golden, Casey, was quite so generous with her leftover hair). The dog literally breathes and there's a puff of hair expelled...there is hair everywhere and on everything. I think I should buy stock in that sticky pet roller thingy company. So anyway, "raking" him outside in the driveway only helps with half the problem. Sure, it loosens things up and sends hair flying all over the neighborhood (the birds are very appreciative), but when it's been loosened, we still need to get the rest off him. That's where the vacuum comes in. He's really pretty good about it...a small biscuit goes a long way toward keeping his attention.

This morning I saw a robin in the backyard (it's January 20 and 7 degrees out...). That's one very confused bird. The least he/she could have done is to wait for Groundhog's Day to make a spring appearance. This might explain it.

Not Mark. Jasper. He's started to lift his leg to pee which can only mean he's really becoming an man-dog. Where did the time go? Jasper is so low key and calm (some might say LAZY) we wonder what will happen after we get him fixed (we're going to try to wait until he's two as recommended by the breeder). Once he's neutered, will he even lift his head when we come in, or just give us a lifted eyebrown because it's too much work to acknowlege our arrival?

Check out the information to the right for a raffle we're holding to raise funds for Cameron's trip to France, Italy and Greece this summer! Thanks to Grandma Pat for donating this great quilt for the raffle. Contact us if you would like more information!

You know when I talk about the fact that I shook things up with a new template that it's a slow news day (week? month?). There's just not that much going on right now! But, there is some good stuff coming up like: A recap of my Pride & Prejudice get together on Saturday - a bunch of chicks sitting around watching the 5-hour BBC movie starring Colin Firth (the ONE, the ONLY, Mr. Darcy). Screening starts at 11am and ends at 5pm. High tea break at 2:30pm. Let me know if you'd like to drop by! My brother-in-law and his wife are expecting their first baby within the week. They are currently living in Turkey (the country, not the meat). Come, cousin, come! Groundhogs Day - hands down, the most anticipated holiday of the year for winter-haters. Jasper will be 9 months on on Monday. He weighs 48.6 pounds now, still on the small side for a male Golden. So, check back for these and other (hopefully) exciting events on the Baker Blog!

Two of my least favorite things to do are going grocery shopping and cooking dinner during the week. On the weekends, I need to carve out an hour or so to go grocery shopping (which interferes with my lazy coffee/bagel/reading-the-paper-time, and often conflicts with nap time ), an agonizingly mundane activity during which I buy the same items week after week. The irony is that I actually do like preparing a meal if it's something I can plan and take my time making (while sipping a glass of wine and listening to my favorite songs on the radio or my iPod). Who doesn't watch those shows on the food network or flip through a magazine and think, "I could make that." So, when I can, I collect interesting meal ideas and recipes and plan a nice weekend dinner (often inviting a friend or relative to join us). But that's not what I'm talking about here when I talk about cooking being one of my least favorite things to do. I'm talking about getting home at 5:00pm t...

Last week Wegmans , the industry leader/cutting edge market based in Rochester, announced they would no longer carry tobacco products. Wow! What a step they've taken. I have some pretty strong opinions on smoking, so when I hear things like this I'm very encouraged and applaud their decision. I am the daughter of two smokers (although my father had quit at least 30 years before his death, and my mother has not smoked in 16 years), and I can vividly remember cold winter nights riding in the car when, windows closed, both parents would be smoking and I would struggle to breath. I have always hated smoking, and vowed never to touch a cigarette, and I never have. At the same time I try not to be too militant about it (although I would like to be), realizing that smoking is legal and people have a right to slowly kill themselves this way. I could never have married a smoker, and hope my kids never feel the pressure to try it (how anyone could start smoking these days, with all we ...