The hills are alive, with the sound of techno

Wishing I were at Central Station in Antwerp. I bet Julie Andrews never thought she would be singing to techno music...





Why can't my life be more like this. Next time Bryan and I get in a fight I'm going to try to make it into a song, and hopefully he'll break into dance. And then we'll tango passionately...

Spring cleaning by Apple

Various photos from my phone that never made it anywhere...

STD in a can

Old and the new (coworkers I mean)

Happy hour with Jaime and Chris

Funny wine bottles in Oregon (sex makes me laugh)

Lunch with Stephen at "What the Pho?"

Talking Danielle out of buying this puppy

Some psycho chick (me) in front of the

school from Twilight

Issy, chillin'

Bryan checking if he can fit

through the dog door

Messing with my MIL's dog Juneau

Juneau making nice for the camera

Me and 'Bama at The Other Coast Cafe (and Mikaela)

Issy's impression of Bryan

Charlie and Issy in front of Haystack Rock

Sunrise at Cannon Beach, Oregon

Sitting pretty for treats

Charlie eating corn on the cob

(what? I didn't need to write that, you could tell? oh sorry)

"I don't have a baby, everybody drink!"

Can you name what television show that is from? (10 points for Gryffindor if you can ;)


This weekend went so fast, I don't even have much to report. Friday I ran errands after work. Went to the fabric store to buy felt for some decorations for Jackson's 1st birthday next weekend. I figured if I tell you I'm going to make something, hopefully I will follow through! The fabric store was out of most of their colors, so I checked out Goodwill and found two huge pieces...very nice. I was beat by the time I came home so I sat down with my book and snapped my fingers and my FIL appeared with thai food. It was fabulous.


Saturday I went to a baby shower for a family friend. My family was supposed to go with me, but somehow I ended up being the only one in attendance. Now how does that happen? I won't tell, but my family...owes me. Here is the gift family if you wanted to know what it looked like ;)

I fell in love with this

wrapping paper from Paper Source

When I came home I was tired and Bryan was in his usual spot on the couch. I got upset and started saying I was going to hire a gardner because obviously neither of us were planning on mowing the lawn. Bryan told me to go take a nap. Offended I sulked off to the bedroom and took a 3 hour nap. I guess he was right. When I woke, I made dinner and then we headed out the Rob Roy downtown for my friend Shannon's Birthday. Happy Birthday Shan!


Sunday we got up early and hit Trader Joe's for groceries. We used to have the habit of waking every Sunday at 8:30am so we could be the first ones there, but of course we value our sleep too much these days to continue. Bryan went to help his Dad buy an iPhone so the dogs and I took a long walk around the neighborhood. I let the dogs run around off leash in a little fenced in skate park and Issy was in heaven jumping around and running up and down the ramps. When I got home I mowed the lawn, because I just couldn't look at it a minute longer, and baked cookies for my Mom and the neighbors. Meanwhile Bryan was complaining about his allergies so I gave him some Benadryl. I accidently gave him a normal one instead of non-drowsy so he was out cold for most of the day. Whoops!

Bryan and

Issy snoozing

And that was our weekend. Pretty unproductive, minimal photos...and I'm still tired. How can this be?

Flashback Friday: Voulez-Vous Danser Grand-mère?

My Grandmaman has just arrived from Geneva. She will be visiting for a month to squeeze Jackson and take care of my Mom while she recoups from surgery. With her she brought a bunch of photos that my parents have sent her over the last 30 years. No I'm not 30, but my Sister will be this year (30th birthday ideas are welcomed)! There are some pretty funny ones that I will debut some lonely Friday, but first I thought I would give you a little intro to my beautiful Grandmere Gaby.

And yes...I am working on a better scanning option, hold tight.

Remember when you and your Grandma used to dress like twins?

Come on, I know I'm not the only one who thought their 65 year old Gigi was stylish

Here we are showing off her 'Best Grandma in the World' sweatshirt that my Mom puffy painted. That's right, who needs screenprinting when your Mom can puffy paint a beautiful smiling sunshine? I'm kidding Mom...I know it was the 80's and she loved it! Funny thing is, she just brought that sweatshirt back to us yesterday.

Tangent: When Katia and I were little we used to dance around to my Mom's french records. One of them was "Voulez-Vous Danser Grand-mère?" sung by Chantal Goya. And if you're really bored on this fine Friday, have a little clicky roo and YouTube will take you back in time. Yes I realize that only my immediate family will follow the link, but hey...I want you to be well informed. And maybe one day when you're on the French version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" you'll have to prove you know your stuff by recapping this story in between the torture of eating escargo and being assulted by a mime. You just never know...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sad sad sad...

3 celebrities have left us this week, two in one day. I'm the most bent out of shape about Farrah Fawcett and her struggle with cancer. But saddened for Ed Mcmahon and Michael Jackson's families as well. I like to remember the old Michael and what an awesome dancer he was. Just think, without him Justin Timberlake would have never been inspired as a child and who would we crush on? Oh right...I could think of someone.

TMI Thursday: Pubic Humiliation

***Alright, folks, you know the rules. Join us all in humiliating the crap out of yourself every Thursday by sharing some completely tasteless, wholly unclassy, "how many readers can I estrange THIS week??" TMI story about your life. Or hell,bout someone else's!

For more racey TMI's visit LiLu's blog at LivitLuvit.com (She's basically a female version of my good friend Jeff)


Okay, I had to dig deep deep into the squashed memories vault to bring out this puppy. I'm always so impressed by LiLu's ability to recall things from way back yonder and wondered why can't I ever remember embarrassing stories about myself? I know I have them...lots I'm sure, because I'm always embarrassing myself. Then it came to me...it's because I've been trying to forget them! Alas, this one came to while I was wrapping a birthday gift the other day and I just knew I had to share it.


During Freshman, or maybe Sophomore year of high school I hosted the annual holiday party for my friends. You see how I say holiday because I've been in the corporate world too long and can't use the word Christm...see I can't even type it either. That's how much it has been shoved down my throat. So let's just go with holiday shall we?

So every year (or the younger years anyway) we had a little holiday party complete with a gift exchange. I remember this one particularly well due to the humiliation that ensued. I think we may have had a turkey and some mashed potatoes or something...we were very classy. Actually I have a few photos I would post if I could find them, but I don't think anyone would like to see themselves in the cargo flare jeans from GAP. That's right cargo flare I said. And the picture of the back massage train giving the girls and boys an opportunity to touch each other in plain sight of my Mother.

Well one of my girlfriends, and two others (you know who you are!) went up to my bedroom to do some last minute wrapping of the gifts. No big deal. And so the night continues. At last the gift giving exchange is upon us and everyone makes the switch. Here's yours here's mine...and then I see the sniggering. "What's going on?" I say. More laughing. And then the lucky boy who received that FRIEND'S gift passed me the box. Stuck in the tape of the beautiful holiday wrapping paper was a hair. A single short hair, circled in black marker.

"That's a dog hair" I said, our dog Samson was a black short hair mutt. And then I looked closer and noticed the crimp that could only come from the fro from below. **insert red face here**

I played it off nicely (I think anyway), but I will never forget. And really who's to say it was mine. My whole family has dark hair...although I sincerely hope none of them were crawling around nakey in my room.

I was going to save this one for one of those ladies wedding speeches, but I wasn't sure how to work it in...is it right after you thank the parents for a lovely wedding?

Happy TMI Thursday!

Literally

My girlfriend Lauren just sent this to me. Well just, as in yesterday and I was too busy with my Harry Potter post to switch gears, but alas it must be shared. Hilarity! (is that a word?)

Enjoy.

Total Eclipse of the Heart with literal lyrics








Thanks Lauren, excellent find!

Miss Granger, all grown up

Making headway (or Hedwig) on the Potter books (sorry, realized just now that Harry Potter jokes are only funny to those who are currently reading them years and years later). Can I just say again...that I'm very excited for the last movie to come out? I know what happens, but I'm still excited.

I came across these beautiful photos of Emma Watson, Hermione, for those who are not in the know. What's that you say? You're re-reading Angels and Demons because you read and watch movies within your age range? Oh, not me... so you must endure. My apologies.

She was an adorable little Brit, but now she is a beauty.

This is my absolute favorite, reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

And oh what I wouldn't do for those gardens in the background. I'd wear those pretty dresses to garden in. Love how they used the hint of deep plum in each of the photos.

I've always wanted to have a child with an accent. Like the little girls in the movie "The Holiday"? I can't even handle it. My neighbor's little girl used to have a bit of an English accent. She'd call Charlie "little Chaarlie" in the cutest accent. I don't hear as much now that she's in school.

Can we talk about her hair for a minute? I love that long bob she has going. Check out how to do it yourself HERE. Don't be surprised when I start sporting it. Wait, you're right. I haven't changed my hairstyle since I was 4 years old.

Emma Watson photos via Teen Vogue

In the dumps...

Been in a funk once again. Perhaps it's the weather/allergy combo that has kept me feeling uninspired. Or the overwhelming amount of work some things in life tend to be. I wonder why that is, or why I feel like they are "work" at all. They're actually called living, and I should I enjoy it. But oh it's hard to do with a pile of laundry to fold, things to clean and dogs to walk. Life moves at a very fast pace.

On our way to The Paramount the other night we passed by a man with his pug. He was holding a sign that said he had colon cancer, and low income. He looked sad and in pain and I wanted to hug him. Instead we gave him a few dollars and the cancer advocate of the family talked to him about his options (cancer advocate as in she works for them). But what I really wanted to do was take him home and make his worries go away. Find out where his family is and why they haven't done this already. My Dad said to me the other day that no one will take care of you like your family will. But what if you don't have any family?

I've been thinking of that man a lot lately. That paired with the whole RENT aids/homelessness theme makes me somber and angry with myself for wanting things. People survive with much less than I have and make. People are in worse positions in life than I am, and yet I can't seem to get myself to appreciate it all for more than a fleeting second. Why is that? What will it take to make a lasting impression in my life and make a change? And more importantly, why do I think "things" will make my life better when I know that its only temporary.

Mostly I feel sorry for my Husband who has to listen to all my complaints and worries. Do you want to have children? The second he says yes, I freak out. Flowers will make me happy. The second he buys them I'm on to something else. We need to drive less to save the earth, but I want an SUV. We need to save money, but we NEED to go to Europe. This reminds me much of the movie "P.S. I love you" where Hilary Swank tells Harry Connick Jr. "the secret". That woman don't know what they want. And the poor guys, the minute they think they've got it figured out we pull the rug out from under them. I don't blame them for thinking we're crazy. I've already admitted it to him.

I think what I'm trying to say is that I need a Xanax...

Pheww...Thanks for listening.

Adventures in Babysitting

Okay, so I may not be as hot as Elisabeth Shue, but I used to be a pretty popular babysitter. I may have lost my touch though. It certainly has been awhile since I've hung out with anyone under the age of 7.

On Friday, Bryan and I watched Jackson for the evening. Everything started out well. We ate, we played, we taught the dogs boundaries (ie. no kissing the baby). It's great having dogs with a baby around because they pretty much hoover up anything he dropped. Veggies, milk...they just followed him around waiting for something to fall. Bryan could also be seen following him around with a towel when the dogs weren't on mess duty. Can anyone say "not ready for a child"?

Uncle Bryan acting

as a high chair

Uncle Bryan...

quit blowing in in my ears!

Stay away doggies,

I have the water bottle




Playing with tupperware,

Mommy forgot toys

Stealing bones

from Issy

Playing with

Uncle Bryan

Crusin' the kitchen

with the old cell phone and milk

Hey look at this, your

cabinets don't have locks!

Let me just rearrange

a few things



Well past his bedtime, I attempted to try and get him to sleep. We turned off all the lights, turned down the TV and walked a couple laps around the kitchen. He was tired, he was fussy, I thought "let's put him in his swing." So we did. He screamed. Bryan suggested leaving him be and he that he would fall asleep eventually. He claims he would cry and then yawn...but it was more like scream, hold my breath getting ready for another loud scream. The pressure was on, he could smell our fear. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to get him out of the swing. Only I couldn't. Bryan tried, I tried. Jackson screamed louder. We couldn't get him out of the damn thing. Finally I laid the seat back unbuckled him and pulled him out. Immediately he stopped crying. Bryan said Jackson knew exactly what he was doing. I wrapped him in his blanket and we sat down to watch Wife Swap (child appropriate no?). I let my nervous leg shaking twitch take over, and it lulled him to sleep in an instant. So we sat and he slept and we waited, trying not to wake him until Katia and Jared came to pick him up.

Saturday we enjoyed a child free house and slept in until 10:30am (oh but I woke up multiple times to tend to (yell at) the dogs). Did a few hours of weeding in the yard and then headed downtown to visit my Mom at the hospital. I attempted to keep her awake for a bit, and then gave up in favor of reading on the window seat in her room. I was happy to be away from the dogs and distractions. Plus our conversation kinda went in circles due to the drugs. Later I went to meet up with my MIL Kathy, and SIL's Erin and Chelsea at Palomino for dinner.

Lavendar Martini

After dinner we went to see RENT at the Paramount. It was fantastic. There were two original cast members, which was pretty cool for us! Ahhh, I should've been on Broadway right? I mean although I fell off the chair and can't really sing it was still the best High School Musical you've ever seen. Sure there was no Zac Efron, but it was still....okay. On the way home I hit the grocery store for breakfast goodies for the morning. Nothin' like grocery shopping at 12:00am!

Sunday was...well you know, Father's Day! We got up very early and went to my Sister's house for breakfast since my Dad was bringing my Mom home early afternoon.

Here is the card I got for

my Dad from Old Tom Foolery

And this one, for

my Brother-in-law

Bryan got a card from

the dogs, and then he wrapped

up Charlie in our duvet


The Dad's,

and Bryan (who made me mad,

and nearly lost his chance at

ever being father!)

Playing with

one of the kitties





Me and Buttercup?

We put out quite a spread this Father's Day. Ask me....ask me the most basic question...

What was that Edward? What do we eat?

An impressive fruit platter by Katia,

with strawberries from her garden

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

with Orange Maple Butter and blurry bacon

Dad says this is A okay.

Although I believe in some countries

that is a gang sign




Father's Day part deux continues at Papa Paul's (my FIL) for more gorging. We went with a steakhouse theme, and you know how I love themes!

Wedge salad with blue cheese, turkey bacon,

hearts of palm, tomatoes and hazelnuts

Andrew and Chelsea's

'rubbed with love' flank steak

(yea I made that up), and Erin's

pretty potatoe sliders

And more gluten free berry crisp,

because we just don't know

that many gluten free recipes

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and a Happy Father's Day!