Seasonal Paradise

Sashas 1st Mail at 6 Months Old

Air Malta sent us air miles info addressed to Mrs Alexandra Anita Brooks.

Mark & Irena, a.k.a Mom & Dad

Cheaky Sasha

Smile Please

Easy, Sasha smiles a lot.

Sasha

Sasha is 6 months old here, less one day.  The pictures were taken on Feb 1st, 2009.  She was born August 2nd, 2008.  The blanket in the background was handmade by Brenda Cook. Thanks so much Brenda. We'll treasure it.

Goober Girl

She's A Daddy's Girl

Sasha

World meet Sasha.

Mi Familia

Our Dream Girl

We're so lucky.

Vulcan Welcome

There was a Star Trek marathon at Xmas and Sasha actually remembered the Vulcan welcome wave

Boo!

We have the same temperament, and the same hairline. The photographer was trying to make Sasha laugh and I think he startled her just a little, in this picture.

Butterbiscuit Head

She just smells so good. Can you spot Sasha's eye-booger? We had it edited out of the final pictures. :-)

Milacci

Milacci (Czech for darlings)

Sombre Sasha

She loves the camera.

Gorgeous Mom and Sasha

Gymnastic Rings Training, Lesson 1, Holding On

Sasha starts her training for the gymnastic rings

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Sasha Smells Like Butter Biscuit

Snoozing In The uSpace

The Brookstone uSpace massage chair is cozy for one and a third.

We sat in this chair about a year ago and thought it was quite unique with its sensory deprivation approach to massage.  The hood comes over, the chairs slides down, and a light band provides a hypnotic effect in combination to music piped in from an ipod or alternative music device.  I like the calf massage, although one of the air bags has broken already, which results in my foot being pressed against in the wrong direction and hurting.  

My bad, I bought a recondition unit for $3100 instead of the $6k list price.  Its under warranty and we have an extended warranty so it will be fixed shortly.

I used the excuse of a tweaked back, and a post Xmas treat to buy the uSpace.  Alas, my back is still tweaked and the massager hasn't helped.  Now I'm using a Chinese masseuse and heat lamps to get the tweaked ligament in my back fixed.  Its not the fault of the chair.  The ligament needs rest, not pounding by mechanical massage balls.  And thats a key difference between massage au naturelle and these automated machines.  The machine is great for routine massage, but if you need something fixing or have a particularly achey back, you'll probably need a more authentic touch by a trained masseuse.  Don't count on these machines for your sports injury recuperation.  They'll probably do more harm than good.  

The massage routines are varied and thorough, yet we can set the machine to work a particular zone in a number of ways.  Vibrating, kneading, pounding, warming.  There's lots of options with this machine.  The foot massage is surprisingly hard, but not varied.  Air bags simply press the foot into a fixed ball.  The calves get a good squeeze.  I'm not sure what the bags under my derrier are supposed to do.  They're kinda useless.  But the back massager is top notch, as best an automoton can deliver.  I'd recommend picking up a reconditioned unit with ane extended warranty, but don't pay the $6k list for a uSpace.

The Moment Of Truth

Irena managed this balancing act on our Segway tour of Tampa on Valentines day. This is the moment she stood hands free for the first time. We rode along the Tampa Bay waterfront and even piled into an elevator. We went 10 floors up in a parking garage to ride around on the rooftop after dark, looking up at the Tampa skyscrapers. Magic Carpet Glide provided our tour from Channelside. $50 each for a couple of hours tour. The 2nd generation Segways were easy to operate and so smooth to ride.

Our Favorite Bagel Lady Celebrates Valentines

The bagels are good at Einstein Bagels but a smile from Barbara is what we really look forward to when we take in our morning coffee.

Kindle Review

I bought a Kindle on eBay and it was delivered this week, on the very same day the Kindle 2 was announced. Damn-und-blast! Having had a chance to look over the Kindle 1, and the reviews of the new one I think the first iteration might suit me better. I actually like the little scroll wheel selector. It's been replaced on the new version with a pointer. But there's something appealingly retro about the wheel. It's simple and easy to work with. The weight of the first and second version Kindle are pretty similar, despite the Kindle 2 being a lot thinner. So no advantage there. The screen refreshes 20% faster on the new one, apparently. Thats nice. But they removed the SD card slot. The SD card slot in my Kindle 1 will come in handy for the Audible.com books I plan on loading into it. Beyond that, the Kindle 1 just has a look that is pleasing to me. I like the little slanted keys, and prefer a sizable next page button to the Kindle 2 characterless keys and smaller next page buttons. I also like the rubber back on the Kindle 1, to the metal back of the Kindle 2. All in all, I'm a fan of Kindle and would highly recommend it. The whispernet works great. I also looked at the Sony book reader but was put off by the jacked up prices of the books. eBooks should cost less, and Amazon's $10 pricing on most books hits the mark. Still, what were they thing charging for access to blogs like TechCrunch. That just doesn't compute.

Petr Dvorak, Our Bonnie New Nephew In Prague

Hey blue eyes.

At The Mike And Juliet Show

In NYC for The Mike and Juliet Show

Sashas First Swim

With Sabina, her Godmom.

Lifeguarding

Sasha and dad keep an eye on mum.

Miami Sunset

Kiss Attack

Irena sends another onslaught of kisses Sashas way.

Miami Sunning & Boating

Who Said I'm Not Like My Dad???

First Sun Tan Lotion

Putting on lotion before going boating in Miami.

F Milk, Got Champagne

Sasha's first (sniff of) champagne.

Sasha Luvs Miami

Very Happy Couple