New Year's Resolutions

Mmmm...It's hard to pick. Generally I say that I'm going to quit smoking, but I did that already (she said complacently).
I think I'll go with weight loss...That's always a popular one.
Oh, and I saw this picture-a-day blog that was really spiffy. The guy took a picture & posted it with a little explanation each day. I really like it and I think I'll give it a try.
Then, if anyone else wanted to do the same, we could all look at each other's pictures and feel all warm and cozy at how creative we are.

I'm just sayin'.


Maybe someone with a new camera, or someone that could borrow their Dad's camera.




For example.


Happy new year, people. Drink heavily for me.

Toast

Toast from my very own super-cool bread machine.
It's warm and buttery and crisp and delicious.
This is what it tastes like:



Ignore the stupid video.

If I can't have you all nearby, at least I have my toast.

Laundry

That's an old picture, but you get the idea.

We're trying to get everything ready for the trip. Rounding up all the winter clothes, getting all the Christmas presents together, bringing the suitcases down from the attic...It's fun.

We are SO FRIGGIN EXCITED to see you all!!!!



Some Christmas-y pancakes we made.




Watching Journey to the Center of the Earth (major suckage)



Nap attack

Rose Ice Cream

I found this on Allrecipes.com.

SUBMITTED BY: MsMarilyn

"This is a vintage recipe that I discovered after moving into an old farm house in rural Virginia. It was scribbled on a scrap of paper and dated '1930; Rose Ice Cream.'"


INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
4 cups light cream
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons rose extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash pink food coloring
Add to Recipe Box


DIRECTIONS
Whisk together the light cream, heavy cream, milk, sugar, rose water, salt, and pink food coloring in a bowl. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately for soft-serve style or transfer to a container and store in the freezer for a few hours for a firmer ice cream.


Sounds good to me.

Iceland

What's the capital of Iceland?


About $1.95.


I added a playlist; If you don't want to hear Ozzy Osbourne, the self proclaimed '******* Prince of Darkness', expound on the virtues of peace and love, then scroll to the very bottom and press the 'stop' button.



But you'll be missing out, big time.

For those who apparently don't care about the economic stability of obscure little european islands:

=-[ <---Right when I was about to hit post, the cat ran across my keyboard and made this face. Seriously.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland: Thousands of Icelanders marked the 90th anniversary of their nation's sovereignty with angry protest Monday, and several hundred stormed the central bank to demand the ouster of bankers they blame for the country's spectacular economic meltdown.

Tiny Iceland has seen its banks and currency collapse in just a few weeks while prices and unemployment soar — leaving a country regarded as a model of Scandinavian prosperity in a state of shock.

"The government played roulette and the whole nation has lost," writer Einar Mar Gudmundsson told a noisy but peaceful anti-government rally of several thousand people in downtown Reykjavik.

After the rally, hundreds of protesters stormed the headquarters of Sedlabanki, Iceland's central bank, demanding the sacking of its chief, David Oddsson.

The demonstrators staged an hour-long standoff with shield-wielding riot police inside the bank's lobby, singing songs and chanting "Out with David" and "Power to the People." The protest ended peacefully when both police and demonstrators agreed to withdraw.

Anti-government protests have been growing larger and angrier since Iceland's three main banks collapsed in October under the weight of huge debts amassed during years of rapid economic growth.

Since then the value of the country's currency, the krona, has plummeted. Icelanders who grew used to buying houses and cars with easily available foreign-currency loans now struggle to repay them. The cost of everyday goods is skyrocketing — furniture retailer Ikea hiked its prices by 25 percent last month.

Iceland has been forced to seek $10 billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund and individual countries.

Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde told The Associated Press on Saturday that Iceland's economy would get even worse next year, with a "severe drop" in GDP and purchasing power and rising unemployment.

Haarde said he does not accept personal responsibility for the crisis. He blames commercial bankers who expanded recklessly in the wake of a mid-1990s stock market boom.

But the protest organizers and many other Icelanders say government oversight of the banks was too weak. They want Haarde's coalition government to resign and hold new elections by next spring. By law, Haarde does not have to call a vote until 2011.

Settled by Vikings more than 1,000 years ago and later colonized by Denmark, Iceland became a self-governing country under the Danish crown on Dec. 1, 1918. The volcanic island gained full independence in 1944.

Throughout the anniversary Monday, Icelanders threw taunts, the occasional egg and acts of political theater at a government many now hold in contempt.

Much of the protest — held on a wind-swept hill overlooked by a statue of Iceland's first Viking settler, Ingolfur Arnarson — had a distinctively Nordic flavor. One protester threw meat and cheese onto the lawn of nearby Government House, encouraging the ravens to come and whisk the government away.

Artist Hildur Margretadottir came to the demonstration holding an artificial horse's head on a stick — her version of an old Norse technique for putting a curse on an enemy.

"I am turning it toward the central bank," she said.

She said Iceland's bankers and politicians "were gambling with our money, and they still are."

Across Icelandic society, political disillusionment runs deep.

Marketing manager Runar Birgisson said he helped vote Haarde's government into power.

"Today, I wouldn't elect any of them," he said. "I wouldn't hire them to clean my toilet."

Associated Press Writer Valur Gunnarsson contributed to this report.

Warhammer Miniature Links

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=269562.0
http://www.hirstarts.com/personal/personal.html
http://www.drunkdwarves.com/?p=21

More pictures!

Girl Genius

There is something pure, and sweet, and immutably innocent about a geek's view of the sexual dynamic.
An environment where a man can actually be rendered speechless by the presence of a beautiful woman, and true love is denied (communicated?) by comedic violence against him; Where physical embarassment leads to increased affection,instead of crippling emotional trauma.

It is in this vein that Foglio's Girl Genius travels, The story is complex, centering around a universe where techno-geniuses called sparks once ruled with the help of complex machines,biological experiments and willing accomplices (Clanks, constructs,and minions). After a bitter and destructive war with the evil Other and it's zombie-making slaver wasps, the primary house, Heterodyne, lies in ruins. The minor houses are united,mostly by force, under the Baron Wulfenbach, a Charleton Heston-like figure who rules with good intentions and an iron fist.

In this universe the travels of Agatha Clay, the last (unwitting) Heterodyne are chronicled. Her cluelessness and frustration are endearing, and her emotional growth is uncommonly realistic, although her knack for getting her clothes ripped/burned/left behind is a little overdone.
If the artist were a character in his own book he would be getting slapped and labeled a perv daily. He's obviously a big fan of the female form, which leads to a lot of gratuitous 'not-nudity' (wink-wink) in the Japanese tradition.
It's a repetitive plot device, but not a huge flaw.

The art is amazing. Incredibly detailed,this is by far the most visually satisfying web-comic I'veever read. The occasional panoramic pages are like the 'Where's Waldo' books in their glorious, minute completeness. The characters seem to grow and shrink according to their relative importance in the scene, which initially smacks of inexpertise but eventually becomes an important part of the atmosphere.

The plot, if not all the dialogue, is worthy of it's own novel. The writer has created a wide swath of characters, places and rich history that is a fascinating story in it's own right. If the relationships area little formulaic, the monsters and villainous good guys more than make up for it. Specifically the Jagermonsters;
Probably the best use of a bad german accent since Hogan's Heroes.


Anyway,if you're looking to kill afew hours catching up and don't mind a childish fascination with boobage given free reign, I highly reccomend
Girl Genius. It's a nice little escape from reality, and a treat for the eyes. I may not buy the Geek Philosophy of Love, but there's nothing wrong with a little test drive.

Extra points if you can read through the Zum-Zum chapter without giving in to the urge to talk like a jagermonster.

Zero's problems:

1.Not potty trained.

2. Likes to eat slippers while they're still on your feet.

3. Thinks he's a rotweiler; This would be fine, except that Swiper disagrees.

4. Runs out the door whenever he gets the chance.

5. Thinks he deserves food just for being so darn cute.

I'm hoping that we can do a better job with him than I did with Tango...I'll try not to nurture his neurosis. Swiper turned out okay, I'll just try the same thing on Zero.

Mmmmmm

The heater works! Yay!!




Drying off after a shower...Warmth is happiness.

Explanations

...dumb as a box of rocks, but cute!

Is there any other kind??
And his name...Pete suggested Taco,but I thought that was too common. Then we thought Gyro, but Pete kept making gay jokes. (Greco-Roman wrestling...it's a long story) So he picked Zero, which is the name of the dog in Nightmare Before Christmas.

We should have named him Stream of Consciousness.
He's 11 pounds, perfect size for punting. He had his initial vet check yesterday and everything looks good. No heartworms, ringworms, whipworms, etc. Shots are all up to date and he's all healthy.
Plumber's coming today to hook up the heater.

Hangover

Did you ever wake up, close your eyes and think "Oh no, I really did that. Why did I do that?" Despairing in the knowledge that what you did is going to haunt you forever, in daily inconvenience and the recriminations of your spouse?
I'm having one of those mornings.
I'll post pictures later.

***later***



It wasn't on purpose.






But he's pretty, right? We go to the pound pretty much every weekend,just for fun. But they had this white chihuahua (mix?) that reminded me so much of Pippin. There were three families ahead of us applying for him, but I put the paperwork in anyway.
I don't know why, but we got him.
I regret the money wasted, but I'm so pleased with him. The kids can play with him, Swiper doesn't mind him...He's perfect.
He looks like someone bleached Pippin.

Shopping day

Dreadmuffin changed this morning! Woohoo!



The plumber is supposed to come today and hook up the gas stove. Hopefully we'll get that done before it starts to get really cold.

Meee-yuck.

Cats. Their little bald feet are always cold. Their smushed-in faces are creepy. They chew poop off their feet while sitting on the table, and they will claw up your leg without a second thought.
That being said, I appreciate their vermin-eliminating abilities. The ugliest, most effective kitten ever:








It's hard to pinpoint exactly why he's so much creepier than most cats. His legs are longer, and he has very pronounced cheekbones. He moves like a twitchy mongoose.
I dunno. But he helped Mamakitty kill a rat when he was about seven weeks old, so I think he's going to be pretty effective once he gets older.

Pre-SHTF Checklist:

1. Pay off Suburban, Home Depot card, & laptop.
Thanks to the theoretical stimulus packages coming our way, this is soooo within the realm of possibility! At least we'll be in the black before we get sent to the work camp.

2. Get my concealed carry permit.
Guess what Santa's bringing ME this year?

Improvements.

Ninja died. He dropped his legs one by one, and then he died. It was very sad.

His replacement, Stephen(that's how sad we were!), is currently buried in the sand directly beneath the heating lamp, presumably molting. I'll get pictures of him as soon as he digs himself out, as he's wearing an aqua turbo, which is very beautiful.
DreadMuffin's giant turbo is in the mail and should be here Monday or Tuesday. I really hope he switches, that blue shell is seriously laaaaaaame.

Guess what we did yesterday?
We went warm shopping!! Then we came home and installed the warm we bought. It's working wonderfully.

Recycled drywall and insulation. The firemarshall may not like it, but it's improved the draft in our bedroom.



More drywall, more improvement.



The best part! Mr. Legs is awesome. A door. A real one. With hinges and Kung-Fu Closing Action.



We bought one for the boy's old room as well, but we're going to have to rip up the carpet and tile in there to make it fit. We're also going to get one for our bedroom. I think this winter's going to be much better.

I must go prepare for church. Stay warm, people.

My little tribe!

This is Rocketship! He is post-molt, wearing a green turbo shell, and likes to huddle in the little flower pot.



This is Mermaid-Princess-Unicorn. Post-molt, she changed into a babylon shell, which are pretty when the light shines through them, but are very thin. I kind of prefer the turbos.



This is Blossom, also post-molt. She's wearing Unicorn's old shell, but I'm not sure what type it is. Fisherman's Nutmeg, maybe?



And this is Nutmeg, the smallest one. She found a smaller babylon to replace her old shell. Isn't she cuuuuuuuuuuuute?



My biggest, as yet unnamed boy. He's wearing a muffin snail shell. Maybe I'll name him Muffin. Or Moppet. Or Dreadnaught. Let me know if you have any ideas.



And there you have it, my substitute social life.
School's going well, we decided to learn about species classification. We learned that Hermit Crabs and pill bugs are both in the Phylum Arthropoda, that they are invertebrates and posess a chitinous exo-skeleton. Also, we learned that 'chitin' is pronounced 'Kie-tan'. I found a paper on latin pronunciation for the unenlightened, so hopefully I can memorize that over the weekend. Yeah, right.

Sugary goodness of apple butter.

I needs it. SRSLY.

Trick or Treat!

It's October again, time to drag the raggedy remnants of past years out of the closet, dust them off, and re-examine them. No, I'm not talking about costumes, but about guilt & convictions. Boy, are there alot of them.
I like the idea of Halloween as a night to get together with family, all lights lit to keep out the cold and darkness. Holding the ones you love tight for one evening because the world outside is a scary, messed up place and the only way we can be safe is to hang together, maybe eat some garlicky olives and a donut on a string. I actually had a good time last year, as The Aunt took the trouble to put together games like bobbing for apples, eating whipped cream pies using nothing but your face, etc.
Plus, I made Mr. Legs take the kids trick-or-treating, which I despise.

But every time I have to wrestle the kids past a talking mummy in Walmart, or a screaming corpse at Home Depot, (of all places!), I recall exactly why I was blessed as a child not to have to participate. I wouldn't take my kids to go see SAW IX.III & 1/2 at the theater, why would I want them exposed to that type of gore in the toy department? You can't get away from it.
While being inundated with witch costumes & images does kind of open up an avenue to talk about the dangers of the occult, it's kind of hard to educate when there's a rotting skull dripping eyeballs making snide remarks from the shelf behind you.
And speaking of costumes, what's the deal with paying thirty dollars for a crappy nylon 'gown' with Sleeping Beauty pasted on the front? Have we gone insane? Going to Goodwill to pick out costume parts is a blast, why would you pay for the priviledge of giving that up? I still remember my two Halloween costumes, a home made spider (with 3-d legs, extremely hardcore for a six year old!) and a fairy princess. Picking out that princess dress at the thrift store was so much fun, and then I had the anticipation of ACTUALLY wearing a grown-up dress...It was awesome.

So what do we do? I don't know. I want these memories for my kids, but I don't want to see them still trick or treating into their twenties (it happens!), or becoming insensible of the excess grossness that so many people indulge in. Desensitizing yourself to images of death isn't gaining maturity, it's a deliberate subversion of your basic survival instincts. I'm thinking maybe we won't go around the neighborhood this year. I mean, it's not like there's no candy at Grandma's house. Then, as they get older, we can kind of outgrow the costumes but still look forward to the family celebration (which I totally dig). I've tried my hand at dressing up the past couple of years, but I suck at it and it makes me feel retarded. So I quit. I'll leave that to the 'children-at-heart'.

You Are a Werewolf

You're unpredictable, moody, and downright freaky. You seem sweet and harmless, until you snap. Then you're a total monster. Very few people can predict if you're going to be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. But for you, all your transformations seem perfectly natural. Your greatest power: Your ability to tap into nature Your greatest weakness: Lack of self control You play well with: Vampires

What Kind of Monster Are You?

Well, I have an appt on the 10th to get the doctor's seal of approval, but other than that it looks like our Excellent Christmas Adventure is a GO! I can't wait to see everybody!
Not much happening here. I got another hermit crab, named Ninja. He's pretty big, and super mean. I'm trying to find a new shell for him to move into but they're friggin' expensive. Twelve for the shell, then five or six for shipping...They must be out of their cotton-picking minds.
Here's the new guy:



Unicorn resurfaced the other day and I can now say that I've had one successful molt!A big deal for hermit crabs, as I understand it.
She changed into a spiffy new shell as soon as she was done:



Rocketship and Blossom are still under. They were both disturbed while molting, so I'm hoping they don't up and die on me. Blossom has reburied herself and is in te process of eating her old exo-skeleton, so I think she'll be okay. Rocketship on the other hand was still partially attatched to his when I dug him up (accidentally), so we'll have to wait and see. Ninja spends hours in the saltwater pool sucking in water, so I think he may have to molt as well, but there's a hole in the bottom of his shell which means he's not retaining much of it. Also, he's a pig. I stuck a shell of calabasa soup in there last night and he spent the whole night gorging himself, and wouldn't let Unicorn near until he'd eaten most of it.

Tommy's coming over tomorrow while the inlaws go to vegas for The Aunt's birthday. I think it'll be fun. Swiper will appreciate the company, and so will Pete. We just have to keep him away from our feline colony. The kittens are doing well. We moved them into the laundry room last night so they can start using the litterbox. Swiper enjoys them immensely.



Mr. Legs and I went out for his birthday to really spiffy piano bar with several of his cousins, friends and a brother. That was a lot of fun! I think the best part was hearing an old white guy playing Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice. It was hilarious, he knew all the lyrics.
I baked the birthday boy a pecan pie today. It was supposed to be for yesterday, but I didn't realize that the crust had to be refridgerated overnight. oops. The kids got him a game called Guess Who, and they've been having a good time with that.
Speaking of kids, the youngest just came inside, covered head to foot in mud, so I better go give her a shower.

The Last Two Weeks in Five Images

Muddy Pigs



Archeological Dig



Squeaky Clean



Peachy Keen



Toothy Gleam.

As per YouTube (thanks John)!

Blatant Religiousity Warning

I love to organize. I said organize, not clean, so quit laughing.
I love little boxes with tiny compartments, and shelves with little areas divided up for baking spices, savory spices, dried herbs, etc. Perhaps because of that I have always been fascinated by the concept of the Catholic rosary beads. My prayers are always really disjointed and frenetic, and I always feel like I'm not focused enough for them to really matter. The thought of having a clear cut, rote guide to prayer really appeals to me, even if the patron saint of throat cancer didn't.

So I kind of made myself a set of prayer beads. It's the same concept without the obsessive wierdness. I took the pattern for the Anglican prayer beads. I can't find the camera to show you mine, but here's a diagram:



I figured I'd read whatever chapter the Cubby's verse of the week comes from, then pray. That way I'm not doing it as I lay in bed, semi-coherent and fighting for pillow space with the dog.
I read Psalm 14 tonight(heavy reading) and used the beads to pray for the people I care about. It works well, because there's one group of beads for each family that matters, and gives me the time to pray for each person without mashing everybody together. It's nice, kind of like meditation.
Hope that doesn't sound too wierd.

Anyway...I'm getting over my mucus infestation, and the kids are all doing well. Caroline came over today which was lots of fun, and her Mom is giving us her old swing set! BIL is coming over tomorrow to help us move it. It's a nice wooden one, a little old, and I think the kids will really just enjoy the everloving splinters out of it. Plus, I don't have to feel so guilty when I banish them all into the backyard while the baby takes a nap.
I defrosted, cleaned and restocked the freezer. It looks good. Once I find the camera I'll post some pictures, because I CAN'T IMAGINE ANYTHING MORE INTERESTING FOR Y'ALL TO LOOK AT. It's pretty sweet. When I open it, there's a faint waft of cold air and a hint of bleach that just makes my whole day. Plus I finally figured out what happened to that big bag of mint M&Ms that disappeared a few months ago. They became one with the permafrost on the bottom of the freezer.

Important Questions

Which is easier, to spit out gobs of teal lung-phlegm at ten minute intervals throughout the day, or to hork up an even pint of it all at once?
To me, spitting is waaaaaay worse than vomiting. I can't really explain it, it's like my aversion to the sound of bones cracking. It just freaks me out. I'm not even sure I could move a big ball of snot from the back of my throat to the tip of my tongue without throwing up. Aside from the gut wrenchingly painful aspects, and the horrible, horrible taste of semi-digested mucus, I really prefer just swallowing what I can throughout the day and sicking it out later.

Hope I totally ruined the taste of your morning coffee, all you happy & healthy people. >:-(

Nnnnnnnngh.

Getting sick is kind of an unusual thing for me...It happens, but not often. So when I got a stomach virus last week, I thought "Hey, it's cool, another six months before I get sick again!"

Spending the night hotboxing steam in the shower was kind of not on my list of things to do, but I'm doing it anyway. I have a cold...One of those colds that burn and itch right in the back of your neck, where your ears meet your throat. It's a little early for coffee still (3:30am), so I've been sucking down chamomile and hot lemon juice like it's cool. It's not working, though. I'm going to miss church tomorrow. Whenever I lie down my nose and the back of my throat fill up with liquid snot. Swiper's worried about me...Well, worried enough to stand barking at the bathroom door, but not worried enough to come in and risk getting a shower himself.

He and Tommy had fun last night while we were staying with the in-laws. They normally don't get along at all, but Pete locked them both in the back yard and they found a stinky, smelly mud puddle to roll in. Seriously, it smelled like a pig wallow. They had a great time, though, and Swiper got two hose baths which he seems to prefer over warm showers. I got some pictures of them all covered in mud, I'll try to get them up tomorrow.

Last Saturday, Swiper and I met Chula from the pitbull group and got to practice the weave poles:


And then Swiper got to try his hand smelling out what Chula's owner calls 'doggie cocaine', a soft treat like sausage that we took turns hiding. I have never seen a dog go as nuts for ANY other kind of treat. It's called Petbotanics, I think, and you can buy it at Petco or Petsmart. Swiper did pretty well.



Then we finished off with a nice walk through the forest. Lenora seemed less than stimulated by the whole thing.

The Big U/S

So, can you guess what sex the baby is?

I can haz kittehs?

Ha ha, my cat went into labor on Labor Day.
What's she going to do on Arbor day?
She had three little kittens of undetermined sex;



They're pretty cute.
Swiper likes to sit and watch them.

The Hermidifier

In answer to your question:
There's nothing living in the bottle, but in the large tank to the left are three hermit crabs; Blossom, Mermaid Princess Unicorn, and Rocketship. See if you can guess who named who.
We've had Rocketship for a few weeks, and after reading a book on hermit crab care, the oldest informed me that
A) Hermit crabs are social creatures that pine away without friends,
B) Hermit crabs need 4 inches of sand to burrow in, and
C) Hermit crabs NEED HUMIDITY, Mommy, without it they will SUFFOCATE, and by the way Mommy what's humidity?

So I had to move Rocketship from his very decorative, adorable, and bone-dry fishbowl into a ten gallon tank, and we picked up some little friends for him. I will admit that they do seem happier now, moving around and eating their spaghetti with every appearance of men unexpectedly released from prison. I would never have thought that hermit crabs could project happiness or thrilled excitement, but believe me, they do.



It's El Hermidor in Spanish.

Very possibly the coolest thing Mr. Legs has made for me yet.
One tube goes from the pump into an air stone at the bottom of the bottle, and the other goes from the top of the bottle into the crabitat, providing lots of moist air for them to breathe. We ganked the idea from another website.



I reeeeeally need a light to put underneath the bottle. That would look awesome.
The atmospheric difference is pretty obvious now; when I put my hand in the tank, it feels like...Well, exactly like going outdoors, actually, warm & steamy. The crabs have gone from immobile shells to curious little explorers.
The kids really enjoy them. They use their Little People fences, castles and houses to make a big crab-coral and set them all loose inside. We're also learning about gills again, and a little bit about crab anatomy.
Instead of a regular story book, tonight we read the first chapter of "Hermit Crabs: Your Healthy and Happy Pet" (not my idea of satisfying pre-bed reading, but what do I know?).
I have this wierd urge to aquire living things; usually I buy plants, but what I really want is another puppy. Intellectually I know it's a stupid idea, since we already had the experience of two dogs when Charlie was here, but emotionally I feel the stirrings of my inner Crazy Cat Lady. At least the crabs are pretty much non-intrusive.

Picking up strays

Well, the inlaws came over this evening with "a few things" they had picked up for the girl's room...They've now got Tinkerbell comforters, sheets, pillows, sparkly beaded purple sheers and bright green curtains.



They stayed late and helped us put it all up. It looks so put together, so much better than I thought it would.



Even the pink ceiling seems to fit. That giant bare patch is the eldest's handiwork...Peeling paint like her momma used to peel wallpaper.

After they left, we decided to watch every episode of the three new Dr. Who series in one fell, nacho-fueled swoop.
We took a break from our marathon at about 11:45 so I could do a chip run. As I was getting back in the car at the gas station this tiny girl in wee little shorts came up and asked for a ride somewhere; she had an argument with her boyfriend who apparently just dropped her off, so she had no idea where she was. Her two year old daughter was staying with a babysitter and she couldn't call anyone because her Mom had turned her cell phone off.
I brought her home to let her use the phone and see if Pete would drive her home. He was really good about it and they're on their way now; I made him take the Glock, hidden in my diaper bag just in case. He was amused, but you really never know. I shudder to to think of my daughters wandering around an area like this in full club regalia.