I don't know if this is THE word, but it's the one that keeps sticking.
Ironically, the two words bouncing around my brain all week have been "patience" and "now".
I don't think I'm an impatient woman. But, there has been an electric current going through me lately that wants a fast forward button- to speed up time and be beyond all of this discomfort.
The discomfort of wondering if our family is complete or not. The discomfort of giving up the things I love to do because they are physically hard or the discomfort if I choose the alternative. The discomfort of knowing in the long run we will be more than comfortable if we continue to be smart and patient, but feeling jealous and immature all the same when I see others getting it now.
Here I am, on the cusp of the rest of my middle-aged life.
Do I focus on patience? For change. For possession.
or now? Which, ultimately...is all I really have.
The best time to go to the temple? Now.
The best time to mail that package? Now.
The best time to go to the gym? Now.
The best time to get my visiting teaching done? Now.
The best time to apologize? Now.
The best time to wake up? Now.
The best time to call a sister? Now.
The best time to reach out to others? Now.
The best time to enjoy my children? Now.
The best time to strengthen my marriage? Now.
The best time to get rid of my bad habits? Now.
The best time to become the person I know is inside me? Now!!
This will be a struggle for someone who can always rearrange a schedule to avoid getting up uncomfortably early, to go to the post office (tomorrow? next week? never?) or to finish a book. Someone who can justify putting things off...and off... and off until the relevancy of the thing is gone.
But the point isn't to do things the same. The point is to do things better.
Get ready....here's me pushing the publish button.................now.
Monday, January 07, 2008
My Word for 2008 - Now
Sunday, January 06, 2008
A Ripper Weekend - Fair Dinkum!
I'm feeling Australian because we went to the Outback twice this weekend!
O.K...so I totally had to google Australian Slang to come up with that title...and I'm still not sure it's right. But I think it means:
Friday, Jay and I met our old friends Doug and Jenny at the Outback for dinner. The last time either of us had seen each other was seven and a half years ago, when Doug and Jenny arrived at our doorstep with their two little kids in tow, to stay for a month so that Doug could complete an away rotation in Colorado. I had a little tot as well, but as Jay was off in Portland doing his own little study abroad, I left on a month long odyssey that same day.
I wondered a little how it would be to hang out with people I haven't seen in nearly a decade, but whose lives I keep up to date with on an almost daily basis. In case you're wondering as well, it's incredible. No awkwardness, no catching up with eight years of life events - just fun right out of the starting gate. It makes me wish the two of them were closer. Hopefully, it won't be another eight years before we get to hang out together again.
A great bloke and sheila!
Good times.There was a fun group gathered that night, and it really is a wonder that these people who I have no reason to know, other than that they have the same notion to share with the world their lives on the internet, have become such delightful friends. Every meeting just keeps getting better and better.
Clockwise from left: Annalisa, Michelle, Hannah, Jill, Jana, Jenny, Lindsay, Amy, me, Crystalyn
Jay with his parents
Nerf guns. You can have any ideology you want, but if you have boys...it might change.
Kelly is one of the best aunts out there. Here she is, getting crazy with the kids even though she just had her third baby. I am so not the fun aunt.
Because she dishes it out so well, she gets a lot of it from her brothers.
Henry loved his cousin Matt's new race track.
Just a bit of a traffic jam at the bottom
And here is adorable baby Sara - the guest of honor this weekendI love when family is in town and the group gets together. I love when friends come to town and we get the chance to reconnect face to face. If this motivates anyone (ahem...I mean you), then so be it. You have my numbers.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Irony
i-ro-ny (n)
1. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs
Yesterday, there was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth because I never made it to the gym.
"Why in the name of all good things did you declare your new gym-ness to all the world?" I cried in my head, with much woe.
"One day! Your gym streak lasted for one day?!" I continued to chide myself.
Of course, I always thought (but somehow knew that it wouldn't come to fruition) that I'd go in the evening when Jay came home. But then, Jay came home weary and there was the season premier of Law and Order on the DVR to watch and then I had to go to bed early so that I could get up early to go....to the gym.
It didn't help that yesterday was a one of Henry's finest. In the morning, he stepped on a tube of hair conditioner whose contents squirted out across the hallway and floor. I didn't even remember to take a picture before I cleaned it up.
About an hour later, I heard an very scary sound. Henry was gagging which led to vomiting which led to this sweet surprise to clean up.
Sorry...this is kind of gross. Yes, he had a nickel in his mouth. I share this not to incriminate myself, because I am well past that stage, but because Henry is far beyond the point of "baby-proofing" a house.
"You could try harder," you might (probably) think.
True. We could. We should. But he's like a bloodhound for mischief. It'd be a full time job and I've already got one of those. Several, in fact.
So our days go like this, dancing from one disaster to the next and it usually ends with something like this happening.
Into the rice. While I was vacuuming elsewhere. There's that word again.
I took about ten pictures while he walked towards me crying and needing to know I still loved him. I do...but, that was good jasmine rice!This morning, I didn't get up early to go the gym. The alarm sounded and I shut it off. Shocking...I know, but in my defense, I didn't get a good night's sleep. You see, Henry got his hands on our sleep number bed's remote control and after several hours, I noticed that my back hurt. A back shouldn't hurt when one possesses the mighty sleep number bed and I realized that my side of the bed was hard as a rock. I looked, briefly, for the remote control but knew if the numbers had changed then they had been changed by remote. And if they had changed by remote, then the remote had been in Henry's possession. Who knew where it would be.
When I finally got out of bed to look for it this morning, I found it by the laundry room and checked my sleep number. 90. I normally sleep at 40. No wonder. Jay sleeps at 70 and his was on 20. He didn't sleep well either.
I decided that, today, I would get to the gym no matter what the cost. At 9:00, I loaded all three boys into the van, filled out the necessary forms to leave them there for an hour, and made my way up to the cardio machines upstairs.
To alleviate the massive amount of boredom I experienced the first day of my gym-ness, I brought a book with me. Thus, I began the elliptical movement of my legs with my book shielding the awful clock that ticks so much slower when working out.
Determined to refrain from constant checking, I went as long as possible without even a glance. By my cell phone time (a little irony - but at least it doesn't have a second hand), I had gone about 14 minutes when I finally lifted up my book to check my stats.
Still blinking on the control panel was "push quick start to begin". I'm such a pro.
I made my way over to the treadmills and walked for 25 at a 15 minute/mile pace and continued to read. I know it's not the best workout, but I could get used to 40 minutes of reading and exercising at the same time. I didn't want to stop. But I did.
I lifted some weights, did some ab work and made my way back to the child care center to pick up my three little amigos.
First words out of the caregiver's mouth were: "Henry is such a good little boy. He kept walking around with me to help me pick up. What a sweetheart!"
Does anyone else see the irony in this?
Looks like I've truly run out of excuses.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
My Scorecard
I am a part of a startling statistic. I signed up for a gym membership. Are you chuckling? Or slowly shaking your head? Please...not the eye roll. Although I deserve it, I wouldn't have signed up if I didn't really want to use it.
I get the cynicism. I don't have a great record with gym memberships.
1992-1993: YMCA. One treadmill, one stairmaster and a whole bunch of smelly gym equipment in an underground bunker. Also included for the fitness stars, an indoor track about a tenth of a mile in circumference. Yeah...kind of like the cartoon.
I went because it was free. I was a lifeguard there so occasionally, when feeling the need to lose the twenty pounds I always felt I needed to, I'd enter the dungeon and start turning right over and over again. Overall score: 3 out of 10 for actual usage.
1993 - 1995: RB during school and Crossroads fitness when I lived at home. You can't blame me for not really using the RB. Does anyone remember BYU issue? The shorts...uncomfortable. Unwearable. Plus, they displayed your size. I did try it a few times and got caught on the stairmaster next to a girl trying to sell me Amway. No thanks.
Crossroads was fine, except I always ran the risk of bumping into some guy...depending on the year there was always at least one I was trying to avoid seeing me in spandex and stretchy clothes. As I managed to stay fit, I'll give myself a 4 out of 10 for usage, but I think it's generous.
1996: Golds Gym. By far my best year. I was an animal. I'd go twice a day somedays. They had this slide class that I was into (I wore little booties and basically went side to side on a slippery mat for an hour. I can't fathom that being something I'd be interested in now). I don't think it's an accident that it's the year I wooed Jay. What can I say? The guy caught me on an upswing. Overall score: 8 out of 10.
1997-1998: The walking around campus and occasional jog around Provo's square blocks membership. Not my best effort. I gained the first significant chunk of my decade long weight gain, and haven't felt cute since. Overall score: 1 out of 10.
1998-2002: Bally's Fitness. I went through several highs and lows. I went fairly regularly before I was pregnant with Seth and then started going back consistently when he was one. It had free child care and I even managed to have a complete stranger say to me once, "I just wanted to let you know that I can see a difference in you from a couple of months ago. Just keep coming!" as she cheerfully and tonely walked away from me. I think I went back after that, but certainly not as often. Overall score: 5 out of 10.
2002-2005: 24 Hour Fitness. It was close to our house and I was raring to go. I bought and paid for a three year membership the first day I went in. I found out I was pregnant with Sam a week later. Child care was $2/hour/child and we were really poor. I think I went less than ten times total. Overall score: 0 out of 10.
2005-2007: YMCA. This time the facilities were new and surrounded with wonderful natural light. I joined for their cheaper swimming lessons and free child care. But it was a 20 minute drive and I found myself MAYBE going once a week. Even Andrea and my commitment to running together didn't get me there. And sometimes, Henry wouldn't stop crying and they'd come find me to tell me I had a needy child. Overall usage score: 2 out of 10.
December 31, 2007: XCEL Fitness. I've got six months to prove myself wrong. Obviously, I've got a lot of self-doubt here. But also hope. I don't have to let those past failures dictate how I behave today. And I don't have to let another gym steal my money. I am dedicating the next six months to brining up my average. I'm going for the 10!
Now, how do I find out if they have a slide class?
Book Review #45 - March
I rarely buy books. This is true for several reasons, but if I'm ever missing, you'd have a much better chance at finding me by looking in library rather than a bookstore.
However, last month, for Blogger Bookclub, we had a book exchange and I found myself in a bookstore perusing the shelves. First of all, I could quickly change my borrowing ways if I were forced to walk through a bookstore every day. I loved it! So many rectangular shapes that wanted to be slid off shelves and bent open. I found myself off task and reading the jackets of many a book.
Which is precisely how I found this gem. Booksellers tend to pimp their bestsellers by displaying their front covers as opposed to the binding, making it easier to catch the buyer's eye. Right at my eye level was the book Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I surmised that it was about the plague and while that wasn't the type of story I was looking for, placed right next to it was Brooks's second, and equally acclaimed book: March, a 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner.
It is the story of Peter March, the absent father of Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth of Little Women. Much more up my alley, I replaced Year of Wonder back on the shelf and walked around with March until, ultimately I found an altogether different book and placed March back on the shelf too (I ended up walking out with The Emporer's Children, which I have yet to read.)
Not forgetting about my interest for March, I used my old-faithful-tried-and-true method of attaining books and placed a hold for the book from the library.
I think I should have bought it. It's a great book. Clever, poignant, informative, inspiring, heartbreaking, interesting and historical, Brooks takes Louisa May Alcott's famous Little Women, and writes a parallel story about their father's experience during the same year. Little snippets are taken from Little Women, and it's as though you can see that famous play happening in the background in each scene. Sort of like Wicked and The Wizard of Oz, only more serious and important. After all, Peter March wasn't out flying on a broom, he was trying to serve the Union troops in the United States own Civil War.
Brooks bases Peter on Alcott's own father's journals, just as Alcott based her Little Women on herself and her sisters. Bronson Alcott, and his fictional representative, Peter March, are part of the intellectual elite who reside in Concord Massachusetts alongside their contemporaries, Walden, Thoreau, Hawthorn and Brown, who each make an appearance in the story. Idealistic abolutionists with Quaker leanings, March leaves his family to support the union's cause to end slavery and finds great conflict between his inner values and his outward actions.
Brooks writes exclusively in the first person and as a result, I, the reader, was able to understand Peter March as he was, as he wanted to be and as he failed to be. He is a fantastic character. My only complaint with the book is that she abandoned Peter for a few chapters and wrote as Marmee, his wife, when he lay sick with fever. She eventually returns to Peter's voice, which gives the story the resolution it needs, and while Marmees' thoughts are equally moving and necessary, it made the ending a little choppy.
Despite that lack of continuity, I enthusiastically recommend March. It will force you to examine your own viewpoints about war, education, race, marriage, courage, pride and love.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Last Call for 2007
1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Traveled in business class. The strawberry juice was delicious.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? No. I wanted to send Thank-you notes promptly every time one was merited and I didn't get that done. That and the annual weight-loss goal.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes. My sister-in-law Kelly. And several friends who I won't name in case I forget someone and look really lame;)
4. Did anyone close to you die? No.
5. What countries did you visit? Thailand and Myanmar
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? A permanent place of residence.
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 21st. We left a beloved city and beloved friends.
8. What was your biggest personal achievement of the year? Singing with the Bach Festival Chorus
Me and the conductor, Gunther9. What was your biggest failure? Not losing any weight.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had my appendix out and then had an allergic reaction to the anti-biotics afterwards.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Jay's little Volkswagen Passat. So much better for him to drive than that old truck.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Definitely Jay's. He kept his nose to the grindstone to study for boards well beyond what my fleshy honker could have endured.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Britney Spears. Not really depressed, but why do rich, talented and lucky ladies behave so badly when the world watches them?
14. Where did most of your money go? We paid off our car and all of our credit card debt with the money we made off of our house. Not a small chunk of change but it's awesome being debt-free (minus the school loans, of course.)
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Wow. Three reallys. I'm trying to not disappoint. Probably the trip to see my parents with my sisters. It was a great experience. Really great. Really, really, really great.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007? Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape. It's always on at least one radio station here. Those "whee whee"s grate on my brain!
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
A. Sadder. Moving is harder than I expected.
B. Fatter. I didn't think it was possible, but I proved otherwise.
C. Poorer. No moonlighting this year! That hurts a bit.
Man..those answers aren't the way you want to end a year!
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? More hikes. I love them but never do them anymore.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Laundry. It continues to overwhelm me.
20. Did you fall in love in 2007? I don't think people fall in love. I think people love and I did.
21. What was your favorite TV program? So You Think You Can Dance.
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I honestly don't think I hate anyone. So, no.
23. What was the best book you read? Wow. I read 68 books last year. I think the best would be East of Eden. Suite Francaise is a close second.
24. What was your greatest musical discovery? I don't make musical discoveries. I just decide if I like what Jay has downloaded or not. But, I'm glad The Killers came out with a new album. Read My Mind has kept me happy for months.
25. What did you want and get? A new camera that takes the picture quicker.
26. What did you want and not get? My car detailed. I should just go and get it done regardless. My van carpets have more stuff spilled on than I care to think about.
27. What was your favorite film of this year? Becoming Jane.
28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Went to a movie, lunch with my sisters, a water park with the family and dinner at The Outback with Jay. I turned 32.
29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I feel like a broken record, but to have followed through with my weight loss goals would have been a great accomplishment.
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Momiform.
31. What kept you sane? Family and friends. Blogging. And reading.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year!
It's 11:52 and I'm going to bed. I'm sure I'll still be brushing my teeth or something when midnight rolls around, but the party is over at our house.
We had a great time playing with Kelly and Jerry and their kids, until about 10:30 and then I wanted to get my book reviews caught up so that they counted for December instead of January. I'm right on track to complete my goal of 75 books by May. So, forgive the typos as I haven't edited them yet. Yeah...I know about the whole "post options" that lets me change the time and I could have written them tomorrow and credited them to today, but I'm a purist that way:)
Here's to a great new year!
Book Review #44 - On Chesil Beach
What a disappointment! I really enjoy McEwen's writing style and 90% of this book had me reeled in. But the climax of this book is so mind-blowing retarded that it loses any recommendation points from me.
On Chesil Beach is a story about Edward and Florence. Two educated and good people, they marry as virgins due to their own personalities and also the expectations of the current times (the story takes place in 1962.) , McEwen effortlessly drifts between the thoughts and backgrounds of his two major characters. It's as if you get to be both characters for a moment.
This dance of thoughts between characters weaves between about a two-hour stretch of real time on their wedding night. All building up for The Marriage Act.
When it goes horribly wrong, the book falls apart. The book jacket exclaims, "A story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken."
Puh-leeze!
O.K...here's a spoiler alert. Do not read this if you are going to read the book and hate all pre-knowledge about a book.
I'll try to be tactful, but remember...they are married and they were both virgins. So, this isn't really a "naughty" book, only an attempt at describing an awkward situation between two people who love each other but lack the depth of communication expected and needed between most people at that level in a relationship.
Basically, right before the moment of consummation, he is so excited by her touch that he unwillingly finishes too early. Way too early. It disgusts her and she runs out of their room and onto the beach.
He is angry and heartbroken and disappointed as is she.
They finally confront each other with their own feelings and have a fight. Not an extraordinary fight. Not even an extraordinarily cruel one. But things were said in frustration and embarrassment.
And then she leaves. He goes back to their room after her and she is gone. Their marriage gets annulled and the story fast forwards about 40 years (but only for Edward. The reader gets no future knowledge of Florence except from a newspaper review that Edward reads.)
I suppose it could happen. But McEwen attempts to dramatize communication, and how what is said or unsaid can alter events (pretty much a universal rule, I think) and he ruins a perfectly good story with a highly unlikely and disappointing ending. I didn't believe it. Or, if it did happen, then it was unnecessary and ridiculous.
Sorry if I ruined it for you, but I so enjoyed Atonement and the appropriate consequences of THAT "what if", that this story, in subject matter and result, gets a big thumbs down from me.
Book Review #43 - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Marjorie, a girl in our Blogger Bookclub, has become known as the Devid Sedaris girl. She's an intelligent, stylish girl, so I thought I'd give him a try.
He is totally my kind of author. Not only that, I want to write like him. Funny, self-depreciating, honest and perceptive, I enjoyed (almost) this entire book.
He can be crass. There is an entire chapter I skipped because almost every other word on the page was horribly vulgar, but he was writing about his horribly vulgar brother and using a lot of quotation marks. I skipped it, and all the other chapters were delightful.
I was able to do that because this is not a novel or a biography. It's mostly essays written autobiographically. The kind of book where each chapter can have its own discussion.
Some were better than others. They can't all be home runs. But, as a whole, the book shines due to the writing. It's a pleasure to read.
Thanks Marjorie!
Book Review #42 - Housekeeping
I found this book while researching books on Good Reads. Marilynne Robinson is the author of Gilead, which is a very popular book among readers this season, and just to be that much different (I know... I'm such a stand-out), I read her previous novel, which came as highly recommended.
I can see why book lovers like her. She vividly details each scene. Suddenly, a page is full of the texture of the bedspread and the lighting in the room and the placement of the shoes on a certain side of the bed. But said with such description that you imagine it perfectly.
These are the sorts of things the word lover enjoys. But...alas...I am not so much of a word lover. A word liker, yes. I want my sentences written correctly and a book well constructed, but I'm not going to search out every word and "ah" at a sentence's end because it was pretty.
Ultimately, this book didn't have enough of the stuff I enjoy, mainly a moving story with good character. If I have to describe the story, I'd say it's vaguely specific. So many "why"s and "how"s ignored but so much detail described in other parts. It has a romantic, almost foggy feel. But that might just be because that's what the cover looks like and it stuck with me.
Lastly, I felt the author was too hung up on tying in her title throughout the story. Like, she had the title very early on and kept using it, in all its varieties, so that the reader could feel like the story had a purpose. I'd give examples...but there are too many. It isn't that subtle.
I know there are some of you who love the words. You'd probably love this book. But it wasn't one of my favorites.
Book Review #41 - Good In Bed
Even though this isn't the Blogger Book Club book until February, I went ahead and re-read it because it had been six years!
I still enjoyed it.
Weiner tells the story about a confident woman, who works as a journalist for a paper in Philadelphia, who breaks up with her author boyfriend only to find an article written by him in a magazine about "Loving a Larger Woman".
The article begins, "I remember the day I found out my girlfriend weighed more than I did."
Aaack!
Perhaps it is all the large girl humor I find so appealing. She really nails so much of it. And Cammie, her protagonist, is a great character. Lots of zingers and thoughts and comebacks that make you want to hang out with her in real life.
Like most of Weiner's books (and I have read most of them now), she tends to create a melodrama in what most readers simply want to be a comedy. The conflict, which all books must have, blows up too much and makes the book lose its sparkle. I also have a problem with the reality of one part, which I will wait to discuss with my fellow readers, instead of lodging my complaint here.
Regardless of its imperfections, this is a fun, entertaining, interesting and honest story that most readers (do NOT recommend this for your ward book club - that mistake does not need to be repeated) would enjoy.
Book Review #40 - The Subtle Knife
I am not a fan of forwarded emails. They frustrate me, because they usually come from the same group of people, people I like a great deal but who never send me a normal "hey, how's it going?" message. Just "Support our Troops" or "Tell every woman you know she's special" or "Microsoft is running a test and if you send this you could get a check for $1,000!" When I see the letters FWD in the subject line, I usually simply delete it.
I lost track of the number of emails I received telling me about the Anti-God movie The Golden Compass and the need to boycott the movies and the books. It was well over ten. Ten people wanted me to send that email on to everyone I know, telling them the same thing. Don't see this movie! Don't read these books! Alert! Alert! Alert!
Nothing like calling attention to something like a planned boycott. I haven't seen the movie, because I'm cheap and it's not something I'd take my kids to or something I'd be prone to see anyway, but as I had already read the first book in the series, enjoyed it and hadn't found it to be Anti-God, I was curious to read the next to see what the fuss was all about.
I don't know if the emails worked and I read with a bias, but I did not enjoy this second book. Not because it is Anti-God...which it really isn't, but more anti organized religion and organized religion's version of god, but because the writing is bad.
Dialogue - choppy.
Descriptions - cliched. (how do I get that little accent marking over the e?)
Storyline - totally falters.
I felt enormously disappointed in the direction of this book. Lyra, the young female protagonist in search of dust and her father, all but disappears in this second story. She still plays a part, but now as the sidekick to Will, a new character who is a giant "young adult fiction" stereotype (in search of the father he never knew while protecting his mother from bad guys and seems to be gifted in the combat department). I don't remember the writing being bad in the first book. I thought it descriptive and unique and thoughtful. Not so, in The Subtle Knife. Pullman changes gears and loses focus. There is a lot more going on and none of it is developed well. I stopped caring about the characters and their goals.
I think these books had great potential. There could be a lot to discuss with adolescents (not young children...at all). The nature of the soul, the natural man, the costs and benefits of religions. All appropriate things to discuss with youth ready to question and discover on their own.
Pullman takes that conversation away with his lack of metaphor. It becomes impossible to argue, "I think the dust means this." or "what do you think The Authority is for Pullman?" when he throws his opinion at you with real life Christian beliefs. It's inappropriate and unfair. Write a fantasy or a satire or a parable if you want to. Other authors have done it...and done it well.
Pullman didn't.
I won't be reading the third book.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Christmas Break....I Suppose
Remember the days when a holiday actually meant a vacation? I have many fond memories of sitting around during those two glorious weeks off and reading, shopping, eating, sleeping, skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, watching movies and playing games. Furthermore, all of this festivity and vacationing was usually accomplished while also reuniting with family and friends.
To this I say: Sorry, Mom. And sorry to my mother-in-law.
I abused you.
I mean, wow...when you don't go anywhere, and you don't have family visiting, and your husband still has to work his normal workload and school is out, the vacation turns out quite different.
For instance, I still have to cook. People still get hungry and want to eat and there is no food magically appearing around suppertime after a day of games. Oh...and that day of games? It isn't happening either.
I feel like a grown-up...and not in the good way.
It hasn't been bad. It's just been too normal. I have always counted on this burst of holiday cheer to get me though the rest of the dreary winter. I suppose I'm just going to have to put a lot of emphasis on the good stuff that's happened.
Seth won the family fantasy football championship. I had it two years ago (although I came in 11th of 12 teams this year) and then Uncle Darren had it. We say it has rightfully returned home.
It's called the Krafty Blue Bowl, in honor of Grandpa's old horse.
We frosted Christmas cookies. I had ordered a dozen from a gluten-free bakery and then we never decorated them for the big day. So, even though Christmas had past, we still managed to frost and...yes...eat them.
Seth snitches some cream cheese frosting.
Anyone want to guess how well Henry and frosting mix? I'm still finding it on things.
Outside after one of the several batches of new snow we've had this week.
Super Sam
Seth thought it was fun to throw snowballs. Henry though differently.
Seth and Sam had been having lightsaber wars and after a while, I noticed it was quiet. I thought it very unlikely that both boys had spontaneously fallen asleep in the middle of the room, and on further inspection found them both to be "playing dead."
Sammy has always had a great death scene and while Seth could hardly keep his legs still, Sammy was convincing. He even had his eyes half open for part of the time.
My favorite thing was meeting some fellow bloggers for brunch on Friday. Kelly A. is in town for the holiday and had some of her fans come adore her at a local cafe. Next to me is Kelly's cute sister Lori, then Kelly...across the table is Andie, who is fashionably delightful and Denise, a kindred spirit for sure.
We're officially putting the whole "internet/blogging friend" bit to rest. We are simply good friends. Kelly is a star.
Jay made my entire week by preparing a fabulous chile verde meal from scratch. Roasted the tomatillos, slow cooked the pork. It was awesome. I'm hoping it becomes some sort of tradition.
We made it to the Children's Museum yesterday. It was very, very, very crowded, but Jay was there so I could simply follow Henry. He could have cared less if he knew where I was, so it was up to me to know where he was.
Favorite place was the balls. He loved lifting up this cover and having the wind blow his face. Then, when the cover is closed, it becomes like one of those bank vacuums and sucks the ball up the tube.
His face when the ball zooms up.Friday, December 28, 2007
The Antidote
One of the known perks of blogging is taking more pictures than usual. Not just staged pictures on the big days, but more of the "here is where I went" or "here are my Christmas decorations" or even "here are these two creepy middle aged people making out in a park".
For a person prone to fits of irritability when I lose sight of the BIG picture, taking pictures of the maddening moments has become downright therapeutic.
It is a comfort knowing that sweet validity is only a blog post away. When I get it out and share, then the score goes back to zero and I can handle the next insane, incredible, boring, hilarious, normal and outrageous thing that comes my way.
As I was talking to my dad on his Christmas/my Christmas Eve, he was laughing about all of the mischief Henry seems to create. I found myself laughing along and told him that what I caught on camera isn't even half of what he is capable of.
Since then, I've really tried to document each mess, each disaster, each discovery as I come upon them. Most times, simply getting out the camera keeps me from losing my mind and scaring my children. Not always, but it's helping.
Today, I think he may have ruined his most expensive thing yet, and I didn't even yell. I just walked over to my purse, took out my camera and snapped a few.
I'm not sure which method, if any, will cure Henry of his penchant for destroying anything he can get his tiny hands on; but I believe that I may have found the perfect antidote for dealing with it.
Monday through Friday
Sister Jen sent a lovely gift in my favorite shade. Henry managed to get it out of its little box, the cap off and the damage done before I got to pucker up even once.
He found a new DVD and took it out of its sleeve and left his mark all over it. It plays alright...but why can't he leave well enough alone?
He broke this ornament because he was...
standing on top of the table where he pulled it off of its ribbon and crushed it in his own hand.
I fed him a snack up on the barstool and apparently left a marker close enough by. I'm such a rookie still.
Scrubbing Bubbles on the leather office chair.
Grape flavored Tylenol spilled on the carpet. I know! I'm about to report myself to CPS!
My coat was hanging on the back of this barstool and he pulled on it so that the barstool tipped over. When I pulled it back up, I noticed a piece was missing.
Yeah...you just try to get it back on. Like I don't notice the splintered wood.But...in his defense. He's not even two. And maybe, possibly, hopefully...his curiosity and determination and absolute lack of personal censoring will be a power for good someday.
Until then...expect more pictures.
Oh....Henry.
