The Thompson Family

Nora and the other kids at the Sippy Cups concert at Bimbo's rockin' out to "I Wanna Be Sedated." View the still photos on Flickr.

Guess what... I'm riding my bicycle from S.F. to L.A. this summer in AIDS/LifeCycle! That's 545 miles in 7 days starting June 1st. Yep. Me. On a bike. For the first time in 7 years (I know, seven years!).

Hear that tin cup rattling? I am trying to raise at least $2,500! Please support me and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation by giving what you can.
Donate online at: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/1613
Your donation can truly make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS, because the money raised by the participants (over 2000 of us!) will provide critical services to those people via the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

This bike ride down the coast of California is the biggest endeavor I have ever considered... I took my first ride this past weekend, and it was an amazing day. The last consistently active thing I did was the AIDS Marathon in New Orleans, way back in 2004. My brain, my heart and my waistline are all looking forward to the experience and challenge!

Much love to you and yours this Valentine's Day!

Nora's best Christmas present was a card game called Sleeping Queens by Gamewright. She wakes up in the morning saying, "Can I please have some milk, and then we can play Sleeping Queens?" Truly. Every day starting on Boxing Day. And it is the first thing she asks to play when we get in the house after school/work.

This company makes the most amazing games. Be sure to check them out if you haven't seen them before. Nora has two other games that she loves, also by Gamewright: Wig Out (matching card game) and Feed the Kitty (a dice game). When we filled out our customer comment card after our second Gamewright purchase, they sent back a HANDWRITTEN postcard to Nora with some suggested games and personal responses to her note. Now that is stellar customer relationship management!