I was feeling like nothing happened this week that was worth reporting, then I remembered that my nephew (who has yet to be named) was born on Tuesday! He brings the grandkid total on my side to a whopping 30; add in my niece and nephews from Matt's side, and I'm a proud aunt to 36 (soon to be 41!). Now THERE'S something to blog about.
On a darker note, I have a confession: I started reading the Twilight series. I was a little standoffish about it since I pretend to be a rebel and avoid fads (yeah, right - I was one of those freaks who read the 7th Harry Potter within 48 hours of its release), but a lady in my ward brought by the books for me to borrow without my even asking. I took it as a sign and started the first book yesterday; I'll grudgingly admit that I have had a hard time putting it down. I still can't decide if I like it or not, but either way I think I've developed a dependency and will make this a short post so as to get back to Bella and Edward.
Being back in the midst of a page-turner after some time reading only board books has gotten me thinking: where the devil does a fresh idea for a novel come from? I mean, it seems like all the stories have been written, and then someone goes and writes about adolescent wizards or teenage vampires and sends the literary world spinning - and begging for more while reaching for its pocketbook.
When am I going to write a book like that?
According to John Grisham when he appeared on the Today Show, just as soon as I start writing a page a day. Considering that I can barely crank out a blog a week, I should have a best-seller ready in just under ten years. Look out!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Not a Freak
As the subject of this post implies, I felt so validated by the comments on my last post that I'm tempted to lay bare all my skeletons and general wackiness.
Instead, I'm finally putting up some new pictures of the handsomest 7-month-old this side of the Rockies. His latest trick is to eat his feet:
There is also a good amount of looking like a Turk, especially if Daddy has anything to do with dressing him (this is such a classic Truman face, by the way - 'You have GOT to be kidding me'):
And, my personal favorite: the post-bath, very surprised hippo.
I love this baby! He's been sick this week, and his sore runny nose and barky cough just break my heart. I'm learning to not worry about his little oddities the same way I'm learning to let go of my own - I know of a couple of babies his age who are 'doing' more than he is developmentally, and it's hard not to compare. I never thought I was going to be one of those parents who bragged that her child was composing sonatas at three months, but when I see some baby younger than mine fixin' to crawl around...well, I get a little anxious. He may end up a freak like his mama (I'm kidding!), but I trust he'll do things his own way and at his own pace. In the meantime, I am sort of enjoying the fact that I don't have to babyproof the house.
Instead, I'm finally putting up some new pictures of the handsomest 7-month-old this side of the Rockies. His latest trick is to eat his feet:
There is also a good amount of looking like a Turk, especially if Daddy has anything to do with dressing him (this is such a classic Truman face, by the way - 'You have GOT to be kidding me'):
And, my personal favorite: the post-bath, very surprised hippo.
I love this baby! He's been sick this week, and his sore runny nose and barky cough just break my heart. I'm learning to not worry about his little oddities the same way I'm learning to let go of my own - I know of a couple of babies his age who are 'doing' more than he is developmentally, and it's hard not to compare. I never thought I was going to be one of those parents who bragged that her child was composing sonatas at three months, but when I see some baby younger than mine fixin' to crawl around...well, I get a little anxious. He may end up a freak like his mama (I'm kidding!), but I trust he'll do things his own way and at his own pace. In the meantime, I am sort of enjoying the fact that I don't have to babyproof the house.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Freak
Sometimes, I feel like I missed the boat. There are things I think everyone else does one way and I do another - silly, unimportant 'norms' that leave me feeling like a freak. For example, I...
...shoot pool like a lefty even though I'm right-handed.
...never learned to hold my pencil correctly.
...CANNOT nurse my child in a chair that has arms. Folding or kitchen chairs only. Plus I have to hold him in an odd position that is difficult to explain but easy to see - it's awkward.
...don't really know how to swim. I mean, I wouldn't drown, but I don't swim well. At all.
...rarely shave above the knee.
...clearly have a habit of sharing too much information.
...don't have a regular schedule for keeping my house clean.
...have never gotten into The Office or any reality TV show.
...wear the same colors of makeup today as I did ten years ago - and have never considered changing them.
It doesn't make any sense, but I feel insecure about these oddities. Like people are looking at me thinking, "Doesn't she know that every other soul on the planet hangs clothes facing the other way in the closet?" And I am genuinely afraid that everyone (who is 'everyone,' anyway?) will find out how backwards (or should it be 'backward?') I am.
So that's why I'm posting this stuff out in cyberspace for anyone and 'everyone' to read, because better you find out about it now than be blindsided by the weirdness next time we're together in person.
Please tell me I'm not the only freak out there.
...shoot pool like a lefty even though I'm right-handed.
...never learned to hold my pencil correctly.
...CANNOT nurse my child in a chair that has arms. Folding or kitchen chairs only. Plus I have to hold him in an odd position that is difficult to explain but easy to see - it's awkward.
...don't really know how to swim. I mean, I wouldn't drown, but I don't swim well. At all.
...rarely shave above the knee.
...clearly have a habit of sharing too much information.
...don't have a regular schedule for keeping my house clean.
...have never gotten into The Office or any reality TV show.
...wear the same colors of makeup today as I did ten years ago - and have never considered changing them.
It doesn't make any sense, but I feel insecure about these oddities. Like people are looking at me thinking, "Doesn't she know that every other soul on the planet hangs clothes facing the other way in the closet?" And I am genuinely afraid that everyone (who is 'everyone,' anyway?) will find out how backwards (or should it be 'backward?') I am.
So that's why I'm posting this stuff out in cyberspace for anyone and 'everyone' to read, because better you find out about it now than be blindsided by the weirdness next time we're together in person.
Please tell me I'm not the only freak out there.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Reflections on a Leap Day
Four years ago today, my roommate Suzanne (see previous post) and I wrote letters to each other listing five things we thought would have happened/be happening in the other's life on the next Leap Day. (We also kidnapped for ransom and dressed up our friend's stuffed lemur, but I don't think we'll make that a tradition...). Here we are, four years later, and we open the letters tonight.
So while Leap Day isn't a typical day for reflection, this day is for me. Frankly, I can't believe how fast four years have passed. I can't believe I married Suzanne's high school friend, that I had his adorable child, that still live in this college town, or that American Idol is still on the air. Most of all, I can't believe how blessed the last four years of my life have been.
I wonder what the next four years will bring?
So while Leap Day isn't a typical day for reflection, this day is for me. Frankly, I can't believe how fast four years have passed. I can't believe I married Suzanne's high school friend, that I had his adorable child, that still live in this college town, or that American Idol is still on the air. Most of all, I can't believe how blessed the last four years of my life have been.
I wonder what the next four years will bring?
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Story
For those who've heard it (and seen the accompanying multimedia presentation that goes WITH it), this story is old hat. But for those who care, here's the Reader's Digest version of how Matt and I met:
So I lived with an amazing, wonderful, witty girl named Suzanne all four years at BYU. During Spring term after our third year, she mentioned that her high school friend Matt was back from his mission and at BYU. I'd heard about Matt throughout his mission since he and Suz kept in touch (she wasn't 'writing' him per se, but he did send us letters and pics - you get the idea).
Anyway, about 11:00 one Monday night, she suggested that we should meet up with Matt and our other mutual friend Rob to go to the weekly devotional the next day. Problem: it was too late to call Matt that night, and we weren't going to be able to catch him before he left his house at 6 the next morning (and he had no cell phone). Suz happened to know where his class was just before devotional though, but it was across campus from where she would be at that time. I was free that hour, and she jokingly suggested that I should wait outside his class holding a sign with his name on it - a la those people you see at the airport. I was feeling adventurous and agreed.
So there I was at 10:50 the next morning outside 106 JSB, feeling like an IDIOT as hundreds of students filed past and looked at my sign. Matt was, of course, the last person (or close to it) out of the classroom. He was wearing a gray suit and a very bewildered expression as he said, "Uh, I'm Matt." (He told me later that his first thought was that I must have been from the administration sent to give him some bad news.)
I explained who I was and why I was there, and we ended up watching the devotional (not sitting next to each other).
Fast forward to that Saturday, when I suggested to Suz that we go visit Matt (he was commuting to BYU from his parents' house at the time). So we showed up at the homestead, and I played DDR for the first time ever before we all headed out to see Sons of Provo (which may be the worst movie ever made).
Afterwards I was enjoying a bowl of vanilla ice cream with strawberries when Matt asked me about my class schedule. Lo and behold, he and I had a music theory class at the same time in the same hallway. On Monday morning, I walked out of music theory and was greeted by THIS:
So there you have it. I have video footage of my husband asking me on our first official date. And you would not believe how many people in my music theory class asked me the next day, "Did you really meet that guy online?"
More of our love story (and more of the multimedia presentation) to come...
So I lived with an amazing, wonderful, witty girl named Suzanne all four years at BYU. During Spring term after our third year, she mentioned that her high school friend Matt was back from his mission and at BYU. I'd heard about Matt throughout his mission since he and Suz kept in touch (she wasn't 'writing' him per se, but he did send us letters and pics - you get the idea).
Anyway, about 11:00 one Monday night, she suggested that we should meet up with Matt and our other mutual friend Rob to go to the weekly devotional the next day. Problem: it was too late to call Matt that night, and we weren't going to be able to catch him before he left his house at 6 the next morning (and he had no cell phone). Suz happened to know where his class was just before devotional though, but it was across campus from where she would be at that time. I was free that hour, and she jokingly suggested that I should wait outside his class holding a sign with his name on it - a la those people you see at the airport. I was feeling adventurous and agreed.
So there I was at 10:50 the next morning outside 106 JSB, feeling like an IDIOT as hundreds of students filed past and looked at my sign. Matt was, of course, the last person (or close to it) out of the classroom. He was wearing a gray suit and a very bewildered expression as he said, "Uh, I'm Matt." (He told me later that his first thought was that I must have been from the administration sent to give him some bad news.)
I explained who I was and why I was there, and we ended up watching the devotional (not sitting next to each other).
Fast forward to that Saturday, when I suggested to Suz that we go visit Matt (he was commuting to BYU from his parents' house at the time). So we showed up at the homestead, and I played DDR for the first time ever before we all headed out to see Sons of Provo (which may be the worst movie ever made).
Afterwards I was enjoying a bowl of vanilla ice cream with strawberries when Matt asked me about my class schedule. Lo and behold, he and I had a music theory class at the same time in the same hallway. On Monday morning, I walked out of music theory and was greeted by THIS:
So there you have it. I have video footage of my husband asking me on our first official date. And you would not believe how many people in my music theory class asked me the next day, "Did you really meet that guy online?"
More of our love story (and more of the multimedia presentation) to come...
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Tagged Again!
Thanks to Hillary for tagging me for this post - it's supposed to be 6 things/habits/quirks about me, but since I'm running out of things like that to share, I think I'll just...see what happens:
1) I am blessed to have not only really amazing, warm, and wonderful parents, but also a dynamic duo of marvelous in-laws. Rare. And delightful.
2) I can't go a day without eating peanut butter. I've tried. It's impossible.
3) When I was three years old, my family took a vacation to San Fransisco. I was a 'straggler' and kept getting left behind in shops and at tourist attractions, so my parents bought me a leash. They tricked me into wearing it by telling me that my dad was going to get lost if I didn't hang onto him. I bought it hook, line and sinker.
4) When I met my husband, I was holding a sign with his name on it.
5) I like Golden Grahams with cheddar cheese. I'm not even sure how I found this out, but those tiny Graham cheese sandwiches are de-lish.
6) I never learned how to type with the right fingers. I just fake it, and not very well.
1) I am blessed to have not only really amazing, warm, and wonderful parents, but also a dynamic duo of marvelous in-laws. Rare. And delightful.
2) I can't go a day without eating peanut butter. I've tried. It's impossible.
3) When I was three years old, my family took a vacation to San Fransisco. I was a 'straggler' and kept getting left behind in shops and at tourist attractions, so my parents bought me a leash. They tricked me into wearing it by telling me that my dad was going to get lost if I didn't hang onto him. I bought it hook, line and sinker.
4) When I met my husband, I was holding a sign with his name on it.
5) I like Golden Grahams with cheddar cheese. I'm not even sure how I found this out, but those tiny Graham cheese sandwiches are de-lish.
6) I never learned how to type with the right fingers. I just fake it, and not very well.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Questions I Want to Ask the Universe
- Exactly how often should I be clipping my baby's toenails?
- Does hot chocolate count as dessert?
- Why has my right ankle been slightly swollen, weak, and achy since 2003?
- After watching the Today show this morning: When did this become a Huckabee-McCain race?
- How much would a wintertime trip to Greece cost?
- Where is my favorite black cardigan?
- Truman squirms and squirms when he's on my lap (like right now) as though he wants to get down - where is he going to go?
- When is the weather going to warm up enough that I can once again feel my nose?
- Are there any good 'manly' gifts for Valentine's Day?
- If a package arrives from an online photography vendor, and it's covered with tape that says "Ann Taylor" (as in the posh clothing store for women), should you be worried?
- Why does the bullet look like a bullet in the preview, but a flower when I actually publish the post?
And the eternal, ever-plaguing question:
- What am I going to make for dinner tonight?
The world may never know...
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