Ode to Joy

Did anyone ever get into Calvin and Hobbes? A brilliant comic strip! My friend Steph Doyle reminded me of it today so I just threw up some quotes. Enjoy.

-Calvin"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless."

-Calvin"Reality continues to ruin my life."

-Calvin"What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?"

-Calvin"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."

-Calvin"I hate to think that all my current experiences will someday become stories with no point."

-Calvin"I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!"

-Calvin"As far as I'm concerned, if something is so complicated that you can't explain it in 10 seconds, then it's probably not worth knowing anyway."

-Calvin"It's only work if somebody makes you do it"

-Calvin"In my opinion, television validates existence."

-Calvin"Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success... ...Flat stretches of boring routine... ...And valleys of frustration and failure."

-Calvin"What I like is when you're looking and thinking and looking and thinking... And suddenly you wake up."

-Calvin"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want."

-Calvin"A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do."-

-Calvin"I keep forgetting that rules are for little nice people." -Calvin

Technology, Helping Us Enjoy and Document Life

This is a picture I took from my phone as I stalked a theft-flee-chase-capture-and return event a couple weeks ago. I happened to be an eye witness during the flee-chase-return portions of the adventure. I witnessed it all from the comforts of my own car. Had it not been for technology I would've missed the whole event. I give credit to my phone for the slow driving (because I was talking on it) that put me right where I needed to be so that the fugitive could place his hand on my car to stop me in the middle of a busy road. My phone also gets credit for taking this crappy picture during the return portion, but still provided a medium to pass it on to you. My car of course helped me find the post-capture section after a brilliant U-turn upon realizing the green bag the kid was carrying was probably full of stolen goods. My car also helped me follow the participants [bad guy-pictured center (his hands are in handcuffs), undercover Smith's security pictured left (with green bag containing stolen goods) and other security dude's lower half of body pictured right]. And of course credit goes to the invention of blogs, helping the world to stay connected with everyday life.

Obsessions

How do I confess this? And truly make you understand? I am not joking when I say I have an obsessive personality. I have tried to verbally convince people before and it doesn't work. So you can think it's a joke if you choose. I'm pretty sure my immediate family knows of my problem, and a few friends. Here is a list of things that have captured my passion in the past:

Sobe

Grapefruit (Everyday from December to February)

Golf (held captive for three years)

Boating (prisoner for several years....missed weddings and showers)

The OC (So in love with Seth Cohen that I will name my child after him. COuld there be a better couple than Seth and Summer?)

Julia Roberts (Back in the Pretty Woman days. I lied to my mom to get out of the house to see an R rated show. Of course I felt guilty and confessed to her, while also demanding she lighten up because I was going to see R movies and there was no sense in lying about it)

Not working full time (definitely an obsession...going strong for....since I was...I can't remember but a very long time now)

Working (Even though I don't want to work full-time, I probably do, some weeks I end up working 80 hrs a week. I can't say no to work. I have to go. And sometimes I get sick thinking about the work I miss. I must get a life. And a husband. And make my friends and family like me again.)

Twilight--This is the latest obsession.

Pictured below is the night the 4th and last book was released in the series. Traci, Candice and I joined hundreds of other crazies at midnight to get our copies. FYI--the book was LAME (other than it made me want to be a vampire)

Not a surprise I'm sure. Most people have been obsessed with the series. And since the movie has been released, people have revived the simmering obsession into the boiling hot mess it was in the past. Damnit! So have I. I DID NOT like the movie. Maybe it's because I had to stay up until midnight to watch it. Or I went swimming at 10pm to find a second wind, only to find a headache. Maybe because I was sitting next to someone who at every scene would say, "That IS NOT what they said." Or would improvise some of the lines, Like "Edward, Remember who you are." And she would add..."a child of God." Maybe it's because the people I was with wouldn't share their carmel apples with me. But mostly I think it's because:

-Rosalie WAS NOT beautiful.

-The editor just flipped coins about which parts to cut, or was only 10 yrs of age.

-Pet names like Spider Monkey?

-Climbing trees? Professing their love in trees?

-Edward scary?

-Some very bad acting in a hospital bed.

-And most important, absolutely NO character or relationship development at all!

See, I'm obsessed. So badly obsessed that I had to go see it again. And I like it WAY better.

PS..I did lie in one part of this post for the purpose of entertainment. The truth is the carmel apple was offered to me and I did take a piece.

Kentucky, Crazy Capitol of the World

Lucky me spent Halloween in Kentucky this year. Awesome weather and some of the cutest kids you will ever see! Pictured below are Riley and Max (my nephew). Riley and Max are like boyfriend and girlfriend. She bosses him around and he just grunts. Once in awhile he will get fed up and yell at her. She can't quite say her "M's" so she calls him "Ax." Which is what we called him too.

Sam was a bat and slept the entire evening while we walked from house to house. Nothing better than a sleeping baby.

This is a rare time that Sam was awake (see the little owls on his outfit ?). Normally when I pack for a trip I pack light (I hate checking baggage) knowing full well I will need to wear the outfits more than once. Didn't work out so well with a baby that spits up as frequently as I take breathes. Sam was considerate though, he always saved some for his dad :)

Max enjoys many unhealthy foods like:


Dog treats (eaten in the kennel for full effect)

Whipped cream



Chips (jalapeno), coke, slurpees (which I got in trouble for...I gave him one for lunch), ice cream, pie and suckers. However, he does have a penchant for green peppers, raw onions and pickles. Interestingly, he is just learning to speak and chooses words like: pickle, candle, bubble and purple to be among his first.

I couldn't get enough of his pirate costume. I laughed everytime I looked at him.

Sam was so sweet. We had some great bonding time. Poor little guy has a hard time breathing so his mom and I referred to him as "piggy." I miss our early mornings together where he was half asleep and squirmed EVERY second that passed, hoping to find a comfortable position.

Just an FYI: THis kid is pure-raw trouble. I've never seen anything like it. I believe it to be unparalleled. You can't tell from the look on his face, but Ax IS NOT to be messed with.



Just an FYI for the family, Matt actually is in dental school. I met an instructor of his. Went to his clinic. He even worked on my teeth.

Also, Sarah is a superstar! How she manages both of those children without having gone crazy is a mystery. She is a great mother...don't be afraid of medication if you need it though. Stay alive!

The Bear Has Spoken

Last weekend was SOOOOO GREAT! Olive Kate came to visit. Olive is a very good eater and takes it seriously. She is on a perfect little schedule, even for pooping--it's like clockwork.

We went to Wheeler Farm and chilled with Donkeys and Diesel fumes from tractors. (Personally, I felt inspired to become a farmer and vowed to the pigs and other livestock that I would be back to make their lives better. I informed the staff at the farm of my intentions to volunteer and #1 They wanted to know if it was court ordered...I guess most people don't want to work on farms. And #2 They were excited that I could help them in the offices, to which I said, "I'm more interested in being with the animals. YOu know, feeding them, cleaning their stalls, milking, piggy back rides. No offense." Peoples responses to me are starting to make me feel like I'm not normal)---okay....back to Olive

The girl will sleep for 12 hours a night and then wake you up with smiles and giggles. There is nothing better than a happy baby waking you up. I wish she could wake me up every morning.
Grandpa carried her in the Bjorn around Silver Lake. Something I wish I had had for our walk earlier that morning. I was dumb and took a stroll and when she was sick of it...I carried her in my arms. I had to switch arms about every 30 seconds!

Bjorn usage requires a 6 hour course inorder to use it correctly

I tried to eat her cheeks everyday.

I had the best time with them and wish so bad they lived right next door to me, or in my loft. I had to sleep off the depression for three hours after they left.

Some Little Jaunts

I have well over 100 cousins. Here are five of them. Christina, on the far left, is 17 and has been doing her public service by working on the Bill Dew campaign (I voted for him solely based off my theory that Christina would never work for someone she didn't respect. Her mother once told her in a moving car to take her crying baby sister, pictured second from the right , out of the carseat. To which Christina replied, "I will NEVER help you break the law." You can definately trust this half Japanese beauty)

Pictured below is the cry-baby sister spoken of above. Sadye and I spent a lovely saturday afternoon hanging out with Alpaca's on Rebecca Bergman's farm. They ARE NOT lamas. Rebecca has been begging me for months to come to the farm to meet Eduardo/Pedro because "he is so hot and young." So I finally make it to the farm and she informs me that she won't introduce us because I need to marry someone rich. I don't know how to take that comment. Is she looking out for me? Protecting me? Does she think my personality can only be with a rich man? Does she think money is that important to me?

I don't think Sadye had that much fun. How could you not have fun riding an Alpaca?

Breakfast at SIlver Fork Lodge with Daniell and Joanna. I wish I knew the reason for the look on her face (Bad food? My head is touching hers? Somewhere in her childhood she confused the command of "smile" with constipation?)

If I ever run away from home, this is where I will be.

Eyeliner Anyone?

This is my friend Danielle. She came to my house Saturday night to hang out with several of my other friends (it was a mix of three different groups of friends) and announced that she only has a quarter of her eyebrows. I never realized it but she was right! How could I not notice?! I spend hours hiking and talking with this woman and never noticed the missing eyebrows.

You can see for yourself.

Of course my friends are the type to jump right in and "fix" the issue (not that it needs to be fixed). Within minutes Danielle had a new set of eyebrows. (FYI-it was MY eyeliner that was used, yes, I have eyeliner---but no sharpner--I've had this particular eyeliner for over a year) . THe look on Danielle's face as she saw herself in the mirror for the first time with eyebrows was priceless. I've never seen so much suprise on her face (now that I think of it--maybe I have but she never had the eyebrows to show it). She actually screamed and ran out of the room, where all of us gathered and laughed as she said, "Why don't you just connect the two?"