Kylie went with Mommy and Aunt Sissy today and her very first professional manicure and pedicure. She had lots of fun and was even able to hold still for the entire time. She picked out her own color and really likes her new nails. She even called me to say “My nails are pretty.” Here is a picture of them that Tiffany took with her phone.
My new shaving equipment arrived today. Maybe I should explain…a while ago I read an article about the classic wet shaving style. This is the old time method of shaving with a safety or straight razer, and shaving soap or cream applied with a shaving brush. This is most likely the method of shaving your grandfather used, I know my Grandfather did. The article explained the method and procedures behind wet shaving along with the benefits. One benefit that I am greatly looking forward to is less irritation, especially along my neck. Another benefit is that the use of the brush helps to remove dead skin before shaving. To help me revive this lost form of shaving I had ordered a few things from Amazon via Perfect Beauty:
Merkur Long Handled Safety RazorOmega Stripey Badger Hair Shaving BrushOmega Shaving SoapDouble Edge Razor Blades
For the first time; I am actually looking forward to shaving.
Tiffany has decided to finally fulfill a dream she has had for a long time and participate in this years Breast Cancer 3 Day, a 60 mile fund raiser walk benefiting Susan G. Komen for the cure. Tiffany has already started to train and prepare for this large undertaking and is very excited that she is finally going to participate in this great event. We are all very proud of her and look forward to meeting her at the finish line! The actual walk is not until September, so she has a long road of training ahead of her. But we know she will do great!
For a long time now I have been looking at photographs online of scenes that look almost surreal, and wondering how those images were taken. After some searching around I found out that those images are High Dynamic Range images, or HDR and are actually composites of multiple pictures of the same scene. The individual images are taken at varying exposure settings and then combined to form a new composite image of the scene or item in question. This enables the images to have a much larger range for tones and colors and can produce some fantastic pictures.
Even though I knew how the procedure is accomplished I did not know enough about the manual settings on my camera to attempt to do this, that is until recently. I found an article that talked about auto exposure bracketing and how it will automatically take pictures at three separate exposure levels, thus allowing for the combination and creation of an HDR image. I looked into this and found that my Digital Rebel is capable of performing this action and so I decided to try and create some HDR images. Below are two examples of my first attempt at performing this procedure. They are both of the Ypsilanti Water Tower taken from Eastern Michigan University campus.
These are the three images I originally took:
And this is the resulting HDR image:
Here is the second set I took:
And there resulting HDR:
I am hoping to find other objects and scenes to try this out on as the weather turns nicer.
I have added the above images to a new album in the gallery, and will hopefully continue to add to it as I find more things to try and take HDR images of.
I added some more photo’s to Kylie’s gallery. Mainly all new year 3 photos, but a few older ones that have made there way to me have been put up as well. They can be found in the usual location.
Though we understand the importance of making sure Kylie does not have vesicoureteral (VU) reflux, as if she does the next infection could result in her needing to be in the hospital for a few days, we are not sure we want to perform the above procedure. After talking between ourselves and obtaining information and recommendations from others along with some independant research on my own, Tiffany and I have decided to forgo the VCUG and only have the ultrasound at this time. We have discussed this with Kylie’s doctor and he fully understands our hesitation for the VCUG and is fine with our decision to skip it at this time. However, we are all in agreement that should she develop another infection while still so young, it will be necessary to have the VCUG to rule out any type of reflux. The reason for this is because the treatment for VU reflux would require Kylie to be on medication for 12 to 15 months. I guess we will wait and see what the ultrasound reveals and if she develops another infection or not. Kylie is scheduled to have her ultrasound on the 23 at U. M. Mott’s, which coincidentally is where Tiffany was rushed when she was born.
We had to bring Kylie back to the doctor today, it turns out she has a urinary track infection. Because this is so rare in young children the doctor wants to perform a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) to check for any abnormalities. Though Tiffany and I want to have the procedure done to rule out any internal issues, we are hesitant for a number of reasons. First the procedure involves using a catheter to fill her bladder, and how exactly do you explain that very unpleasant procedure to a two year old? Also, the procedure requires the use of a contrast material which could be a radioactive substance.
These two factors alone make us hesitate to perform this procedure. However, seeing as this is her first infection there are other options to consider. One of which is the use of an ultrasound to take images of her kidneys, bladder, and urethra to rule out any issues such as extra urethra. We are going to talk it over and I will do some more research into the procedures and Tiffany and I will decide on what we feel is the best path for our daughter. Until then Kylie will be on some medication to help deal with the current unpleasantness of the urinary track infection. With any luck she will be feeling better in a few days time.
The weather has finally started to break and the last few days have been really nice. I have really been itching to get my motorcycle out and start riding again, so that’s what I did today. I went over to Al’s this morning and got the motorcycle all situated. At the end of last season we had moved the handlebars so today we had to compensate and adjust all my forward controls. In addition we also adjusted the alignment on my headlight, as I felt it was aiming to low, I will need to check this out by heading out one evening for a ride and seeing if the alignment is any better. Today’s ride, however, was pretty short as I needed to take the bike into the shop. After I put the bike away at the end of last season I received a recall on the ECM module. Basically it could cause the bike to stall out during deceleration, potentially causing an accident. I also received a recall for the fuel line leading to the fuel injector, a small fastener could be defective. In addition to the two recalls, while driving to the shop I realized my speedometer isn’t working either. *sigh* So now the bike is at the show and will have to have, at the very least, the ECM module replaced, the fuel line inspected, and possibly the speedometer replaced. I guess it will be at least a week before I get to ride again. Oh well, it was still great to be back riding again! The rest of the season should be a blast.
The doctor’s office called and confirmed that the over night culture also came back negative, so Kylie definitely does not have strep. Even though this was the general consensus yesterday, it is still nice to have an even more definitive answer.
We took Kylie to the Doctor today, as she has had a cough for the past couple of days, and yesterday developed a low grade fever. Normal, that would not necessarily bother us, but she did not want to let Mommy take her temperature in either ear, and said that it hurt. This is what made us decide to take in to see the doctor, as she is developing a track record for ear infections. Her ears checked out and everything looked fine, however the doctor did say that it look like she may have a slight case of strep. The nurse took a culture and Kylie handled it very well, opening her mouth wide and sticking out her tongue, she didn’t even flinch when the nurse took the swab of her throat. They performed a rapid culture test at the office, which only took about five minutes and that came back negative. They are going to do an over night culture just to make sure, and will confirm the results tomorrow. So as of now, Kylie has a clean bill of health and no explanation as to why she was not feeling well.