Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

Lisa writes: First I laughed , then I pulled out a calculator. If cooking at home is more expensive than eating out every meal, cartoonist dude is doing it wrong.

Lisa writes: The Washington Post is calling it "Thundersnow." Because there was thunder. During the snow. And because they already used "Snowpocalypse" and "Snowmaggedon" last year. Anyway, what normally should be a 30 minute bus ride was a 5 hours bus ride + a quarter mile trudge through five inches of slush and ice. Awesome story, right? Nope. Because everybody else had had the same experience or worse. What's the point of a terrific horror/adventure story if everybody else has a better one? Coworker Sravani wrote: After a walk for 6-7 miles, I have reached home at 10:45 PM Boss Praveen Toteja took a survey the this morning and wrote: Diana is the winner!!!! 2:45 AM. Parvinder next at 2:27 AM. Beth at 2:00 AM. David at 1:45 AM. I have no idea why it took you so long I was in at 12:48 AM...(9 hrs) with no problems...... They say that you should have your gas tank full and your bladder empty....I thought it was the other way around.... oops!!! BTW, I...

Lisa writes: This just in! My mom forwarded these to me -- Deb and Kellen's Tinkerbell and Captain Hook costumes from last Halloween. If they'd come to our house, they would have gotten toothpaste and floss like all the rest of the little kids.

Lisa's sister, Debbie, writes: One of the many perils of being a house cat... It's a show on African cats. That 6 inch high impala looks gooood.

Lisa's sister, Christi, writes: It's race day! Christian's pinewood derby entrant: The Silver Bullet.

I just backposted an old email my sister Lori dug up from 2004. Back then, I could never really tell if I was funny or just jetlagged. Folsom Turkeys from 2004

Lisa writes: Kellen got a cat got a cat for his birthday. Christian liked it. The feeling was mostly mutual. Christian got a new pet too. Lisa's sister, Christi, writes: Haven't named him yet. I recommend Catnip. Christi writes: I think Spock will just be happy that Christian has someone else to torture play with. :-)

Lisa writes: My brother Donny and little friend Elias (almost 5) beatboxing in the backseat. My favorite moment is at the 10 second mark when Donny drops the beat and Elias glances at him like, "Dude, where's your flow?" By the way, that kid above is this kid below (2006): EliasShirt Originally uploaded by lisa.n.tom .

Lisa writes: This was my name growing up! (My sister was Liori.)

Lisa writes: Tom and a borrowed baby playing the musical statue at the Children's Garden at the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, California. It's just nails and pebbles and sounds surprisingly pretty.

Lisa's mom writes: My belated Christmas gift was getting to come to Washington State to See my Ava "Birthday Buddy's" dance and cheer in her competition on Saturday. The team did very well. It was short and sweet. Lori picked me up at Sea/Tac and we went over to see "the babies" who were finishing their Play Group. Evy and Benjamin were 2 and 3 when I last saw them. Now they are 3 and 4 years old. They have grown and are so bright. Benjamin as the cutest laugh you will ever hear and Evelyn is lovelier every time I see her, and so sweet. She totally bonded to her mommy. My favorite was the butterfly exhibit, but the butterflies wouldn't pose. Our little butterflies (below) are posers.

Don Don and Tom Tom Click on any little pic to enlarge it.

Debbie writes: Kellen's birthday present. Say hello to Spock!

Yesterday, we went with my mother-in-law to put down her 15+ year old cat, Sebalius. He was a neighbor's cat from down the block who gradually switched allegiances and, when the neighbors moved, he stayed. He had no front claws and had lost all but one of his teeth, but he still patrolled the Anderson's lot and kept it clear of interloping cats, squirrels, and (they're pretty sure) foxes. He had the frayed ears and dented skull to prove his street cred. He would beg for foot by rubbing up against your leg, in Tom's words, "in the cutest way possible." He got a lot of food from Tom. He chirruped like a bird instead of meowing. He enjoyed fried egg yolks. Cancer finally caught up him. He will be missed. El hombre quiere ser pescado y pájaro, la serpiente quisiera tener alas, el perro es un león desorientado, el ingeniero quiere ser poeta, la mosca estudia para golondrina, el poeta trata de imitar la mosca, pero el gato quiere ser sólo gato y todo gato es gato de...

Lisa writes: What do you want to hear about today? The snow that sneaked up on us last night? The class I helped with this morning? The passing of Tom's mom's 15-year-old cat? Kellen's birthday present of ... a kitten? (That's serendipity right there, folks.) It's been a busy day.

Lisa writes: Unsolicited advice -- it is worth it to pay the extra $1.50 for the name brand graham crackers.

Lisa's mom writes: We enjoyed watching the Rose Parade floats being created two days before the float. The warehouses are owned by "Phoenix" who, we were told, only employ 30 people. The thousands of other helpers are volunteers. You must be in the community where the float is from to have the privilege to help decorate. We were impressed how dedicated the helpers were -- even putting their lives on line climbing out on scaffolding with no safety lines. What a beautiful reward to be surrounded by millions of the most beautiful flowers. It was so fun to see the completed float pass by us. I only had my iPhone and the trees did not allow for perfect pictures. "You had to be there." But I wanted to share. (Click pictures to enlarge.) Roy and I walked above the floats. The parade floats completed... Our seat's address (got in the photo). Mexico gave us dance and singing and beautiful horses and lovely costumes too. This was special after we had visited the ...

Tom writes: May 10, 1992 was the last time you would have caught these three characters together to be able to take a picture of them. That would have been college graduation for Hafez, Craig, and me. Since then, I have had the chance to catch up with them separately, but it is difficult. Craig is a missionary pastor in Ecuador, and Hafez is a doctor in the Air Force, currently stationed with his family in England. But it turns out that both of them were in the area this week and we were able to get our calendars to coincide for lunch here. I would have enjoyed hosting them over a series of days to really catch up with them, but I was happy to have an afternoon with them. Craig's wife, Stacey, and daughters, Karis and Aimee, joined in on the fun, and my mom stopped by, too. Next time, we are making Hafez bring his wife and children! I wish the best to all of you this New Year. Let's not wait another 18 years to do this again!

Lisa's sister, Christi, writes:Watched a movie and toasted with some pain drugs and Valium...Ok, that was just what Madi had...she wouldn't share. Happy New Year! Note the temperature outside...1 degree! Also note Madi is on drugs...its all good :-)