Ramblings and Clarifications

I have forgotten how to comb my hair. It is a fairly irrelevant task in the grand scheme of my everyday existence, but I can't remember how to do it. Or blow it dry for that matter. It looks like a disaster every day, except the day I get it cut and Romela does it for me. Why can't she do my hair for me every day? I wonder what she would charge for house calls?

I don't watch Dawson's Creek every morning. I only catch a glimpse to see if it is the series finale. Haven't seen the series finale before (at least not the whole thing).

I only started watching ER in the morning because there isn't anything on at 8:00 am when baby wants to play and I need help staying awake. And, Dr. Clooney was on when I started and he got me hooked again. Just last week I found the plot lines online for the entire series and I'm just waiting for the episode where a guy gets smashed by a helicopter. Then, I'm done. That particular episode, if I've calculated correctly, might happen by the end of this week. At that point, we can eliminate ER from our morning and go for a walk before it gets too hot.

No, I didn't watch The Mormons last week on PBS Frontline. Why not? Two reasons: 1) I didn't remember it was on and don't watch the televizzle in the evenings because I am working and 2) I just plain don't care. Yes, I am one of them and I hope I am a good one, but I'm just not interested in a 4 hour documentary about "my people" and those that don't like them.

I don't really drive much anymore because the Monkey and I are at home most the time. This is good because with gas being ridiculously expensive, we're saving $50 a week. This is bad, because, I am even more paranoid when driving on the freeway than I have ever been. Morons in big trucks: please stop trying to kill me and my baby in my tiny VW. Yes, we are small, but that doesn't give you the right yesterday to try and merge on top of us. Please stay in your own lane.

The baby is heavy. Too heavy to carry and the car seat is a pain to haul around. The other day, I tried his snuggli. He's too big. It cut off the circulation in his legs. Any ideas or suggestions?

I need new shirts, preferably 3/4 length sleeves either with collars that don't wrinkle easily or v-neck t-shirts that are long. Mom, if your reading this, maybe this can be my birthday present. I need new pants to, but I'm not willing to go down that route yet. Pants are too complicated.

My baby has finally decided that maybe one nap a day is okay. He made the right decision, for the both of us and I am very proud of him.

Ross, if you read this, please just ignore any typos or misspellings. I don't care, and neither should you.

A blessing

Yesterday, Ross blessed Elliott. He did a great job and Elliott was an angel the entire day, even if his outfit was a little reminiscent of an English Prince on christening day. He worked it well.

After the blessing, we had nearly 60 people in our tiny house for a lovely afternoon brunch. The weather was perfect, the kids ran around outside, and as the crowds cleared, nearly all the food was eaten. I hope that everyone got enough to eat and headed to their homes like fat cats ready for a nap in the sun.

The services yesterday (It was fast and testimony meeting) were interesting and Lauren and Natalie did an excellent job documenting the varied testimonies.

Natalie said, "The testimony meeting was really interesting. First you got the nice spiritual ones. We counted like four people that said..."My Name is sis/bro. ________, and we have been in the ward _______ months" Then we got some people confessing in front of the congregation...saying like the haven't been doing very well in their callings or haven't been coming to church. There was one girl who said that she is going away for 7 months and there won't be a church around."

Lauren commented, "On girl got up, and started talking about her brother and all the bad stuff he was doing on weekends. She said that when she saw what she was doing, she was very upset. The question is: what was her brother doing? Then this other girl got up and started asking questions like: Have you ever made someone smile? Have you ever made someones day? She then told a story of some girl in her math class. The two of them have had a really bad relationship. But one day, the testimony girl decided to compliment the other girl. She told the mean girl: "I like your shirt. It's really bright." The mean girl then smiled at the testimony girl, and testimony girl felt that they were beginning to create a strong relationship. We counted about four people who all said in their testimonies that they just moved into the ward. One of the funniest ones was this lady. She was sharing her testimony when all of a sudden she said, "my husband got me an i-pod with "To the music of my life" engraved on the back. Random!"

It was interesting.

Regardless of the meeting, yesterday was a wonderful day. Days like that remind me of just how lucky I am to have the family and life that I do. A theme that came up a lot for me yesterday was "heritage". It was so cool for me to be able to have in my home, for Elliott, 5 great-grandparents, 4 grandparents, and more aunts, uncles and cousins than I could shake a stick at. I love that I have a family that sticks together, supports each other, and brings food to parties! Thanks for all the great food. The older I get (I am pushing 29), the more important it is for me to have my family around, immediate and extended. It blows my mind to think about the possibility of not having my mom, dad, sister, and brother so near not just for me, but for Elliott. I am so happy that he loves his grandma (and she loves him back) and that she seems to be the only one to get him to laugh (I'm working on it though).

Great days are nice. I need to make sure that I have more of them.

I love...

Successful family parties and pretty tables

(there was food on the table, eventually)

Creative head gear


My mom


Chocolate birthday cake from French bakeries


Bright Eyes

(Haley took this last one. I need to give her proper credit)

Walking away from his youth...

Buckingham palace, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

Today is Ross' birthday. He is 30 and not taking it too well. Since he thinks that he is now OLD, and life is over, I've compiled a list. A list of 30 things to help him feel better on this very sad, sad day.

1. You are not 50, or 70, or 90 and still have all your original joints.
2. You have traveled the world.
3. You have a wife who loves you, even though she nags, and a baby boy that adores you, because you are his dad and you call him Buddy and give him a break from the crazy mama.
4. You are still young enough to go to concerts, even though you don't want to.
5. You play basketball two times a week. OLD people don't do that.
6. Working in the yard doesn't break your back.
7. Walking up the stairs in your house don't make you winded.
8. This blog. You love the blog.
9. Fantasy Baseball.
10. Watching NBA playoffs while watching your baseball team on the computer, while watching Elliott is an enjoyable way to spend your evening.
11. I let you burp all the time and don't get mad, as long as you say excuse me after.
12. You haven't started to shrink yet.
13. You are healthy.
14. You speak Spanish.
15. I got you nice birthday presents.
16. There will be no black balloons at home when you finish work today.
17. You are a good painter and a hard worker.
18. People like you, they really do.
19. My mom thinks you are a good dad and an angel for putting up with me.
20. You still have all your hair!!!!
21. You've never gotten drunk and done something you regretted later.
22. You have an extensive vocabulary.
23. You are good at surfing the Internet.
24. I like to be around you and you make me, and lots of other people happy.
25. Other people look up to you.
26. You are a good cook.
27. Wil Ferril movies make you cry.
28. You are: honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous.
29. Your intentional mispronunciation of words and em-phasis of syl-albes is amusing.
30. You're not 40. That one is going to hurt a bit.

Happy Birthday!

First ball game

great grandma and monkey, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

Monkey has been to basketball games, but yesterday was his first softball game. He wore his ball hat for the ocassion. Meranda was playing and I was recruited to take some pictures of her in action.

We made it through most fo the game before someone (not me) got too grouchy to stay. But, at the beginning, he was good, and happy watching the action perched on his Great Grandma's lap.