Today

Two years ago today my husband and I asked the orphanage to allow us to adopt Miss B, Miss F, and Mr. P. Makes me smile remembering that call. We had just gotten back from the roller skating rink (where I laughed so hard that I almost cried watching Husband and Mr. Brasil try to skate) and there was a message on the phone.

The orphanage wanted to tell me that the kids' village and church had been fasting and praying for two weeks for someone to adopt them. Tears sprang into my eyes, hearing this news... understanding just how big that God is... He answered the prayers of some Liberians through puny old us.

And then I remember the first time that I met my babies... here's a photo of the first time that I kissed Mr. P when I met Husband and kids at the Chicago airport to help Husband with the last leg of the trip (on the left). And another one of he and I from a couple of days ago (right). Hasn't that boy grown?? My little man... He's gained 20 pounds and 6" in just a year and a half (ignore the other kids in the picture who kept sneaking into the shot)!














The point is that today, two years later, in the mail we received word from the US government that we can bring our 10 year old son home to his family (that would be us). I officially HAVE TO travel so I'll find out tomorrow just when that will be but we're hoping before Christmas... this is our only goal. Wow. My baby is finally coming home, guys! Can you believe it?? I'm proud to announce my son, Big P:

secret rich person

Sorry it's been a bit since I've posted... my butt is lazy.
I LOVED everyone's comments on the prior post and can't decide if I should do a part deux as a blog or just answer in the comment section??

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Anyhoo, on Sunday night mi madre and I went to the 5th Avenue to see Into the Woods. And it was WONDERFUL! I love the theater and I often wish that some secret rich person would instinctively know this and shower me with season tickets. Alas, the secret rich person has mistaken me for someone else ~ this someone else ironically had the seat next to me at the theater.

I first noticed her when I accidentally tapped her foot with my foot. We both pretended that it hadn't happened. She wore a red pea coat and her hair was highlighted blond. She had on jeans, which I thought was odd (for those of you who don't frequent the theater in Seattle, it is a dressy affair), and some cute black leather boots. And this is when is occurred to me that the secret rich person had mistaken her and I. Red coat ~ red hair. It could easily be done. And I do wear jeans EVERYDAY so the mistake is understandable. Did I tell you that I scored some new boots? See... jeans, boots, red stuff... you can hardly blame the secret rich person for confusing her and I.

And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the secret rich person had been showering this woman with rich things (like season tickets) because while I was a grinnin' at the cleverly written lines during the first act, she was flipping through her bulletin while attempting to receive light from the stage by contorting the pages into different positions. To see what?!? Those bulletins are filled with only advertising and pictures of the people that were acting DIRECTLY in front of her. I tried to ignore her bad behavior. I wanted to enjoy my once a year trip to the theater... we had seats so good that I could see the microphones on their foreheads!

As the intermission began, I went on a hunt for the secret rich person. I started by looking in the women's restroom. I also ended my hunt there as well because the dang line was so long. But I had so many things to tell the secret rich person! Did they see how this mistaken woman no longer appreciated their gifts?? How any other human being on the face of the planet would enjoy the $70 seat more than she?? The secret rich person MUST be found so I can tell them that they have over-spoiled this woman in red. It's someone else's turn.

And so, I have a plan.
I will put up 'missing secret rich person' signs.
On every street corner in my neighborhood.
And then I'll put them up in Mercer Island because that's where the rich people live.
And then, when I find the secret rich person, I'll tell them about the grave mistakes that have been made.
Mistake one: Wrong person on the season tickets - I'm the one whom they meant to give those season tickets too.
Mistake two: Over gifting. They must only give one gift per person per every five years or else the receiver ends up spoiled and undeserving.

deep thoughts part 2

So my chica and I were spurred into a conversation when I was reading a few of your blogs and she saw an icon for Mom's For Modesty. While I REALLY don't like the word modesty (my mind takes it to some drastic places where girls aren't allowed to swim because it isn't "modest") we discovered that I am a teensy bit more careful about modesty than even she (who was stoked when she saw the icon while I tried not to cringe).

The conversation progressed into my chica pointing out how a large majority of teenage girls apparel promotes sex (or lustful thoughts) and shouldn't be worn because it might make the guys around them think thoughts. My argument to this was what I want your opinion on. Can teenage girls, whom I believe have NO IDEA what they're promoting when they wear tight/revealing clothing, be held accountable for their actions?

How can I simplify this idea??
..sigh..

If one doesn't know better, can they be held responsible for an action that they took?

Another example:
I was listening to a broadcast on NPR today and they were discussing the conditions in Chinese factories. The list of importers that buy goods from factories is SO LONG that I am convinced that there's hardly anything within my home that hasn't been through a factory in a third world country where workers arms get chopped off by the machinery daily. If I bought these goods without knowing the conditions from which they came, can I be held responsible for being a part of this chain that propagates itself?

I hope that I'm being clear.

I just wonder if our motive is pure when we act, can we be held responsible for the reactions to that action?

Shoot, I've got some diamonds on my wedding ring that very well could have propagated the war in Liberia where my own children are from!?! But I didn't know better at the time. Ya with me?

sometimes cheating is acceptable.

Do you know what rodomontade is? (My spell check is freaking out because it doesn't even know what rodomontade means. HAH!)

Mean either and that's why I cheated when I was earning rice for the UN to donate to end world hunger. If you want to cheat too, go to the free rice website while simultaneously having a window open to dictionary dot com. Then just cut and paste the ridiculous words that they give you onto dictionary dot com and fill in the blank!

I earned 410 grains of rice before I got so hungry from all of the cutting and pasting that I myself had to quit and go have some lunch.



P.S. rodomontade means vainglorious boasting or bragging; pretentious, blustering talk.
P.P.S. cerement means a cerecloth used for wrapping the dead. Duh.

picture day

..sigh..

The last week has been a BLAST and I feel refreshed and oh-so-content. Let's do a quick overview and then I'll blab about less important things tomorrow ;)

The Gulu Walk:

It was a nasty weather day with mega winds and the rain drizzling just enough to remind us that we were in Seattle BUT the girls were super troopers and we made it around Green Lake one and a half times (thanks to my bad parking spot, we had to walk half way around the lake in order to find the group). I think that we were probably the oldest and youngest walkers in the group ~ I listened to quite a bit of chatter on how to attract boys that act like they don't like you when you like them. Also listened to some chica who was quite self-assured in her knowledge of Africa. A few times I almost interjected into her speech to edit some of the bent facts that she was spouting, but I kept it together and played the grocery store game with my girls instead ;)
Dawne, we represented you and the boys but I flaked and didn't take any pictures to prove it... Thanks to everyone who supported our walk, we raised a total of $325.00 for the children of Uganda!!

Pike Place Market:

It's always a hoot to me, having guests from out of town, because you get to do all of the tourist-ey things with them like the market. We went on Saturday after the walk and it was piz-acked! Can you find my girlfriend in the white coat below? I had a hard time keeping track of everyone in there. But, we did get my favorite food group: humbows (not sure if I spelled that right)!

Down time:

Husband has been back and forth about us having another baby. I am adamantly against this sleepless idea but DANG those babies are just so hard to say no to! They smell good and coo when they're full... my maternal instincts run full blast when I get to fall in love with someone else's responsibility ;) However, this hormonal imbalance isn't strong enough to wipe out the memories of breast feeding and two hour sleep pattern that one picks up with an infant around the house.

Closing Statement:

Overall, I am SO thankful for my girlfriends that God blessed me with. What would I do without them? They make the tough times in life that much more bearable and the fun times ever funner! So a cheers to all of the girlfriends who love me endlessly, do dishes at my house, and love my kids almost as much as I love theirs!

I stole this from Sarah

My power has been off and company in town... ACK! But I can always somehow manage to fill out these weirdo surveys... whatsupwiththat??

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1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Whom would you blow up?
It's a toss up. There are oh-so-many dictators that I wish would just disappear... probably Mugabe or Jong-Il

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence, who would it be?
Nothing's coming to me

3. Whom would you really like to just punch in the face?
the Kaczyński twins.

4. What is your favorite cheese?
parmesan or feta

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal.
avocado, cream cheese, those teensie sprouts, tomato, and some turkey... nummy

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice.
I choose not to answer this question for the sake of a happy marriage.

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music celebrity of your choice.
Same answer as question #6.

8. You just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. What do you buy?
I took Jenny to the Mac counter and REALLY wanted this lip gloss there... but right before we left home, I challenged myself not to get anything while at the mall so I would get that gloss. And probably the ingredients to the sandwich described above... makes me want some.

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
liberia. Did you read that Tab?

10. An angel appears out of heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the beverage of your choice. It is?
HOT COFFEE.

11. Do you like honey?
yep

12. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anywhere in the PAST. Where do you go?
man... I'd probably go kick it with Jesus...


13. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?
Don't poop on the beach.

14. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called?
World News FOR REAL (not just one part of the world, the whole thing.)

15. What is your favorite curse word?
I have been known to occasionally flip some curse words but I can't say that I have a favorite...

16. One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren't really doing anything, what do you do?
call 911? maybe unravel them to see what's underneath...

17. Your house is on fire! What do you do?
get out of the fire with all people and pets. that's a weird question.

18. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. What do you do?
Kiss my family goodbye.

19. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What super-power is it?
OHMYGOSH! I totally fantasize about this. I'm not kidding. I would be a flying girl that has the ability to throw fire.

20. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?
I'd like to see, as an adult, the moment that my dad told me he was leaving.


21. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?
A large number of boys that I "dated".

22. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check this out... you can move to anywhere. where?
I really like it here.

23. This question still counts, even for those of you who are under age, if you were banned from every bar in the world except one, which one would it be?
I'm not much of a bar gal...


24. Hopefully you didn't mention this in the super-powers question... If you did, then we'll just expand on that. Check it out... Suddenly, you have gained the ability to fly!
Now I'm off to shoot Chavez in the bootie with my fire powers.

25. The constant absorption of magical moon beans mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?
Well, hmmm....guess I don't really care...

The second to last Gulu Walk Post

It's second to last because, well, I'm going to have to post pictures from the event, right?

So I'm going to make all you all a deal. If you donate at least $20 towards helping the children of northern Uganda, I will make a florescent sign with your name on it and carry it while on the Gulu Walk. Imagine it now... you will be famous! sorta. I will mount the sign onto a stick so that I look like I'm picketing for better health care but I'll actually have a sign with your name on it. Can you see it?? And if you've already donated cash and want your name on a sign, I'll totally do it but you have to tell me.

Even if you aren't up to donating, I still want to encourage you to learn more about what's happening over there. Unicef has a pretty general over view here that you could check out. I am moved strongest with personal stories so please take a few minutes to watch this video.

In response to...

Okay, so pretend like I tagged you and do these on your blog. Make me look good, ladies.

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Euphoria:

Favorite Disney Movie - uhhh... probably Jungle Book

Greatest Dessert - caramel anything

Best Craft - like my favorite craft? I honestly can't say. I like 'em all (except scrapbooking - I don't know why but I just can't gig on it)

Occupation - soldier for Christ

Dream Job - a writer. ~sigh~

Greatest Hero - Jesus. But Husband comes in a close second.

Pet Peeve - Self-righteousness

Randomness about You - I'm pink. But you already knew that.
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The Beast:

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Starbucks barista
2. secretary for a shipping place
3 file-r at a college
4. LOTS of bookstores

Four movies I have watched more than once:
1. Sound of Music
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. Garden State
4. Anne of Green Gables

Places I have lived:
1. Seattle
2. Seattle
3. Seattle
4. Seattle

Four TV Shows That I Watch:
1. Heros
2. DOG the Bounty Hunter (shutup. I LOVE him.)
3. that's
4. all

Places I have been:
1. Seattle
2. Seattle
3. Seattle
4. Seattle

Four of my favorite foods:
1. dim sum
2. virtually any and all soups
3. FRUIT
4. greek food, yo

Four people who email me regularly:
1. Ashley
2. Nikole
3. Enrico
4. Mi madre

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. heaven
2. a white sandy beach with a margarita in hand
3. on my way home from Liberia
4. visiting with bunches of family

Four friends who I think will respond:
1. Southy
2. Dancer
3. Euphoria (as in the CK perfume?)
4. T

Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Coming home from Liberia
2. hugging Husband when he gets home
3. INCOME TAX RETURN
4. I can't think of anything else...

long time no bloggy

sorry that I unofficially took the past few days off... me and amy winehouse (aka my girly from IA who happens to look like amy with that head band on) have been hangin'. more lata.

P.S. can you kinda see that I got me some swoop bangs?

Merry Christmas!

So the other day, I was harassing my dear Husband about his gifting... shall we say... disability. This is a subject that I like to bring up often as once upon a time it was a sore subject but it has grown into something that we can both laugh about (okay, mostly just me).

Before Husband and I got married, I always imagined my future husband to be the dashing masculine hero who opened doors and cooked candle light dinners to surprise me. Uhhhh... I definetly scored dashing, masculine, and hero! So it was a bit of a let down when I realized that Husband was a normal human being like the rest of us down here on the planet earth.

We met in mid November and were engaged on Christmas Eve. Yes, the same year. So I knew that he was going to ask me to marry him (not that we had talked about it, I just knew) and because of this I thought long and hard about the gift that I was going to give him and assumed that he would do the same. We waited up until almost midnight on Christmas Eve and exchanged presents, I made him open his first. He, of course, loved what I got him. Then it was my turn. I tore the wrapping paper off of the kinda heavy box with absolute excitement. What was it going to be?? Had he put weights in the box to mask that it was actually an engagement ring? Nope. It was a set of steak knives.

I tried to pretend to like them and smiled super fake. To this day he insists that it was the steak knives that got me to say "yes" when he proposed about 5 minutes later. I think it's more like I just pretended that it hadn't happened so the moment wouldn't be ruined.

And the disabled gift giver keeps trying every holiday and it is getting better, however it's almost funner if they're just terrible gifts. Like for my birthday once he got me a tennis racket. Ever heard me talking about tennis? Or my all time favorite was when he got me a few sweaters from Lane Bryant. He said that when he went in there, he asked the lady if they had any smaller sizes and when she got the smallest size they had, he said that he just figured that it was this seasons style. Still makes me laugh. Ohmygoodness I'm crackin' up!

But seriously, I love that man. I crazy love him. I remember right before he and I got married, my mom asking me, "Ya know all of those little things that you love about Husband? Those things will get on your last nerve in a couple of months." And I totally dismissed her but some of that statement does ring true. What I felt then is the total opposite now. Like those presents and my reaction to them. Or the level of hatred that I used to feel if his socks didn't make it into the laundry basket, just next to them. Now I just think, 'Aww he missed by an inch!' And then I leave it there when I do the laundry. I'm still working being nice, okay!?! And what I thought was love then is nothing compared to what I feel now... I think I'm getting carried away.

the best news EVER... almost

That's me, all excited and surprised.

And Tabitha, for the record, I tried to call you with the news but it may be after bedtime.

So lately I have been FREAKING OUT about money. You have no idea how many times that I have fake-blogged (this is when you type it all out but never post it) about this issue, but c'est la vie. Now that I'm at the other end of that tunnel, this will be posted.

So we got into some debt over this most recent adoption and our finances were only getting progressively tighter/worse. I made a bad choice by putting the upfront fees onto our credit card. *Not that this is a bad choice for everyone, I just jumped ahead of God even though I knew better.* And by tighter/worse I mean TIGHTER/WORSE like don't have enough gas to get the kids from school worse. Ya with me? And we go to this church, this church that loves us WAY more than we deserve, and during our last adoption, they set up a "Our last name Adoption Fund". Can you see where this is going?

And it always takes this much for me to just let God do His thing. My stomach has been in daily tight upset-ness, every time that money came up I'd either cry or wish I was crying, I was trying to figure out how I could provide in the financial places that we were lacking, I kept pushing Husband to work extra hours, I stewed over the whole scenario for hours on end, me, me, me, I, I, I, and none of it worked. But in just the past two days I have finally been setting this down at His feet. Once I was finally able to cry for help to the One who loves me most, He swooped in and saved the day... as usual.

Tonight, while at church, I happened to be looking over the missions finances for something completely different and saw that our fund had SKYROCKETED to a teensy bit more than the credit card debt. Did you get that? I said, that the money set aside for us was enough to pay off all of our debt!! I'm not sure if I should throw the number out on the internet but if you email me, I'll tell you how crazy much that it is.

..my provider and my hero..

not sure what's left to say except AMEN!

Boobie trap

IBSEN collects stuff for the auction throughout the year and I had donated this quilt that I made in... April-ish. That was back when I quilted. Right around the time that I named this blog. Anyhoo, the quilt went for $120.00, which aint half bad. I'm positive that it would have gone for more had it not been promoted as a "baby quilt" ~ which it totally isn't. Lap. Quilt. I did hover over it like a vulture in order to help people to bid on it. That might have been cheating but whatever. I would pet it and talk about how much I loved the colors, blah blah blah. About 60% of them fell into my boobie trap. My own mother aided in this venture when she bid (it was in the silent portion) on it with impure intentions. But it worked. HAHAHAHHAAHA!

quick thought for the day

I was watching a movie about Dorothy Day and there was a line in it that said,

"None of the thinkers act and none of the act-ers think."

This got me thinking about whether I'm more of a thinker or an act-er (not actor). From the outside I know that I look like an act-er... but on the inside, I know that spend far too much time thinking about doing things for others, rather than actually doing them. And when I finally do take action, is it thought through to the end? I think that the tough part is finding that middle ground of both preparedness and follow through (which I believe was the actual point of the statement).


If you were honest with yourself, which side do you lean towards?



P.S. The speech went amazingly well and I'm famous now.
P.P.S. Not actually famous
P.P.P.S. I wouldn't like being famous anyhow
P.P.P.P.S. Speaking of famous, I had a dream about K-Fed the other night! mind outta the gutter.
P.P.P.P.P.S. He and I went to brake the news to his parents that he couldn't afford paying for their property anymore. It was weird. As dreams tend to be.

suprise!

I pulled out ye 'ole beading junk today and holysmokies!
It was like striking gold, as far as I was concerned! It's been... about two years and I had forgotten all of the goodies that had been stored away in the tippity-top of the boys' closet. But there was a purpose to the madness. Mom's birthday was yesterday and ever since I put the beads in storage, she's been bugging me to get them back out (not to mention that we're perpetually broke). After unloading the goodies, I noticed that my pliers were no where to be seen. Called Husband up and he said that he thought he might have seen them in the junk drawer. Which one? He wasn't sure.

pictured above are the three junk drawers that we have... what is all that junk, anyway?

But I couldn't find the freakin' pliers and so I resorted to matching all of the loose earrings that were already made. Do you see those bracelets on the left? WHAT was I THINKING? I mean, they're cute and all but the cost of the swavarski's (or however you spell that) and the silver far outweighed anyone's desire to buy them. And the time that those things took! If you only knew... So anyways, I took the cardboard out from behind some little league baseball photos (ghetto, remember?), cut it up and mounted the earrings on it. Not bad, eh? Now to figure out which one that Mom would like...

Calling all editors (and non-editors alike) *revised *again

Remember a while back when I said that I was going to speak at IBSEN? Here's the major rough draft... I only have until tomorrow night so would you give it a look over super soon? And hash it for me. After all, we don't even know each other so DON'T BE NICE. If it sucks, just tell me.
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There are simple moments in our lives when we know, almost instinctually, that we are saying ‘yes’ to something that will change our lives forever. Your ‘yes’ might have been when you decided to college or finally chose and stuck with a career path. Or maybe your ‘yes’ was when you accepted a marriage proposal from that person who loves you every bit as much as you love them. My ‘yes’ came at a welcome home party held for a medical missionary friend of ours. She had just returned to the states and
I was excited to hear some good God stories from an African country that I wasn’t sure I had ever even heard of.
“Libya? Siberia?”
“LIBERIA.” she told me for the millionth time.
Later on that night, once the dishes had been cleared away and the kids were entertaining themselves by playing with their buddies, I trotted off to see what my husband was up to. I knew that he had gone downstairs to watch a slideshow our friends’ time there in Liberia, so I aimed myself in that general direction. My mood immediately shifted when I saw my 6’5 husband come up the stairs. Tears had begun pooling around the base of his eyes ~ and he is not Mr. Public-Crier-Guy. Shocked, and almost afraid of his response, I asked him what on earth was going on. This was going to be big.
He reached his arms out to me, not ready to talk yet, and buried his head into my shoulder. This simply was not going to do; and so I did my wifely duty of pressing him for information. After a few moments that felt like forever, he leaned back from our embrace, leaving his eyes looking directly into mine and hands resting on my shoulders. After taking a deep breath in then letting it escape out again, he said to me, “We have children in Liberia, Rachel… I just know it.”

Almost a year later, I finally got to meet the result of that ‘yes’ in the flesh. I was wandering around the Chicago airport, searching for my husband and our three newest children Faith, Blessing, and Palmaray. Amidst the normal airport hustle and bustle, I thought that I had heard the sound of running footsteps and so naturally looked in that direction. Not noticing anything out of place I went ahead and shifted my attention back to making my way through the turnstile. It was then that I heard a faint whistle, quickly followed by three little Liberian accented voices shouting, “Ma! Ma!”
Instantly I knew that those voices were calling my name. I was their Mom and these were my babies. I immediately side-stepped out of the security area and dropped my bags. Falling onto one knee, I waited for those three skinny little bodies to reach me so that I could give them the hug that I had anticipated for such a long time.

Days and weeks passed by with a lot of growing pains, and yet we were all able to pleasure in the development of our unusual family. The security of everyone’s place within our family grew stronger every day. This development afforded all of us the freedom to focus on other things like girl scouts, soccer, and other regular old kid stuff. But another ‘yes’ was yet to come.

Within days of our one-year adoption anniversary, we received an email stating that Palmaray’s 10 year old brother, Papie was available for adoption. The organization that we had adopted through wanted to know if we were interested. Interested?? Absolutely we were interested! You see, Papie has had a special place in mine and Sherman’s hearts ever since Sherman was picking up our three from Liberia. We discovered that the kids’ biological family had tried to put Papie into the orphanage with our original three. But Papie had the cards stacked against him. His entrance into the orphanage had been rejected because the organization was afraid that no one would want him due to his age, his epilepsy, and the fact that it was rare for anyone to adopt a sibling group of four. Thanks to IBSEN and to all of you, we’re expecting to hug and kiss the result of that ‘yes’ before Christmas.

Just this past week my husband, Sherman, was changing the oil on our minivan in the carport. Palmaray, now six years old, was “helping” Sherman by delivering tools to complete the task. Palmaray floated from subject to subject, happy to have his dads’ undivided attention. I happened to be washing dishes in the kitchen, which was just within earshot of their exchange. As Palmaray was squatting down next to Sherman, who was under the car, he handed him a ratchet he said, “Dad, when I grow up I’m going to go work with you at Odwalla too… And when I’m big I’m still going to help you fix cars.”
I set down the sponge and spent a moment thanking God for the place that we’ve grown into. This place that every parent strives for… the one where your child wants to be just like you. How could anyone say ‘no’ to that?

Dear Husband,

While you were working hard in sunny Phoenix, here's what we've been up to...

• I slept corner to corner on the bed and my feet MIGHT have ended up on your pillow. MIGHT have.
• I watched a chick flick... It's called U-Carmen; a South African version of the opera Carmen. You would have hated it ~ it was wonderful.
  
• I watched it while I lied in bed, after your bed time. The volume was on pretty loud, the fan was off, and the light was on. It was wonderful.
  
• Sorry, I may pay for this when you come home but I ate popcorn in bed. You hate that and yet it's oh-so-convenient.
• This morning I dropped the stuff from our closet-clean-out and this lady was working there and her and I ended up chatting for a while. I couldn't peg her accent but it turns out that she's Japanese by decent but was raised in France. Anyways, she had breast cancer surgery on Monday and is already working today... She was elated that they didn't remove her whole breast. I SO wanted to hug her and tell that I loved her. But that would've been creepy so I just commended her on her bravery. She smelled like Grandma used to and I wonder if that's why I cared for her immediately. I told her that I would be praying for her. You would've liked her.
  
• I broke the blinds in our room. Officially. I know that they were getting close but they're toast now. Oh well, it's just an excuse to give curtains another shot!
  
• The kids ate dinner in front of the television and I ate mine while playing The Big Kahuna. hehehe.
• There were these really cute t-shirts at Costco, two for $20 and I got them. They're 100% cotton and CA-UTE. And remember how I whined about needing some long sleeves?
• Little O found some condoms in our room and waved them in Miss B's face while bragging, "I found some tickets!"
  
• I talked to Anne from IBSEN and she asked if you wanted to come to the auction too! Who should I ask to babysit? For the dinner you can pick between salmon, chicken, or vegetarian.
  
• It's hailing right now with some thunder and lightening. Mr. P said that it sounds like God is playing the drums.
• Little O wishes that you were home to serve him some juice. I do too so that he would stop bugging me about it. He keeps saying that water makes him thirstier.
  
• The girls were supposed to be cleaning their room and Miss Z tried getting out of it by telling me how much that she misses you. You totally would've fallen for her huggy-manipulation-techniques.
  
• Kahuna was a little lost without you last night. Even though he loves me more, you are much warmer in-between the legs ;)
• The girls' teacher came up to the van when I was picking them up and thanked me for signing their readers every night. I asked her if she was kidding (I admit that I was expecting bad news since she came over to the van) and she said that I would be surprised at how many parents don't enable their kids to do their homework. Then, the vice principal told me to keep the line moving and the girls' teacher rolled her eyes at him and HE LAUGHED. The unmovable vice principal laughed. I'm liking both of them more and more.
• Miss F asked me if my heart really says "I love Husband" every time that it beats. What are you telling our kids when I'm out of earshot? I think that it might...
  
• Oh and both Batman AND Superman stopped by for lunch today...

Really important things

like cars.

We'll need a new one because in a few months we won't all be able to smoosh into the minivan any longer. Whaddaya think? A burb? But those drink soooo much gas and thirst for more. And NO I will NOT be caught driving one of those excruciatingly large vans that seat 500. The minivan was hard enough on my ego.

Speaking of cars, I realize that I have a problem. I've named it vehicular profiling. I categorize people according to the cars that they drive. When I met Husband, he drove a Malibu. Perfect, I thought. It seated four, wasn't flashy, screamed stability, and was always spotless.

Other examples:

• BMW (any model) = so self propelled that they will step on others to reach the top

• Honda Odyssey = a bit snobbish but at least they aren't driving the beamer anymore (I want one of these, by the way, and have never even driven a bmw. But I did have a crush on a boy in middle school who's initials were bmw. Get your mind outta the gutter.).

• Ford Focus = young, likes new things and buys them even though they can't afford them, also enjoys speed

• Acura Integra = spends a lot of time on being good looking but has bad intentions

• Old Beat Up Pick Up Trucks = now that's just hot. I have no idea why but it's true.

• Volkswagen Jetta or Gulf = in between two places: childhood and adulthood

• Scion: Pa-leeze.

I can't think of anymore models right now... All I can hear is Mr. P sniffing. I think that he may have a cocaine problem. He sniffs and sniffs even though there is nothing there and when I tell him to stop, he does... just like that. It's a new bad habit that only occurs when he's bored.

I betcha that those kids at his school hooked him up.

See?
Really important things.

Continuing on with Movie Tuesday...

I want for you to watch this. It's superb.
Trust me.




|

I've watched it about twenty times and cried every time.

Movie Tuesday

..It is Tuesday, right?

My mornings with Little O. All summed up in 60 seconds.

weird things about me

1. I don't like to touch pens that are offered to me by complete strangers. For all I know, they just put their finger in their butt crack that's infested with pin worms. I think it's gross. For this, I apologize in advance to any kind stranger who tries handing me a pen while I scramble through my purse, hunting for one that doesn't have poo on it.
   
2. I don't like it when shoes are on the outside mat (the one that has dead mice on it). That just bugs me. Matter of fact, if shoes are in front of the mat I dislike that as well. Call me crazy but I don't like to trip.
   
3. I like for my shampoo bottles to be in the shape that they originally were intended to be. When a shampoo bottle gets misshapen, I try my best to form it back to it's original state. My husband thinks this is odd.
   
4. The sponge must be left soft-side up (rather than scratchy-side up) so that it will dry properly. If the sponge smells like stanky bacteria, I just throw it away and this is wasteful. I know that you can microwave the bacteria out but then the front of the house stanks like bacteria and this is just gross.
5. Speaking of smelly bacteria, all towels MUST smell like bleach or else I won't use them. If they stank, why on earth would I rub that crap all over my clean body??
6. I won't touch public restroom doors. Long sleeves and elbows come in handy for this. Not enough people wash their hands properly and I know what they were doing in that stall. Just say no to typhoid fever!
   
7. I hate the sound of my silverware clinking on the glass dish that I'm eating off of. I know that this is particularly weird. Because of this, I eat off of plastic 99% of the time. I also don't like feeling the temperature of my food and glass passes this much better. Plastic wins again.
8. I don't like chocolate or ice cream. I especially don't like chocolate ice cream.
9. I HATE loose hair and think that it's unbelievably disgusting. This is why I will never be a famous hairstylist.
   
10. Don't even think of going through my purse. There is nothing private in there but it feels like a violation of my privacy when anyone opens it up. The other day, I overheard Mr. P whispering to Little O that he thinks that I keep bunnies in there and that's why I won't let them open it. Might be true.
11. It's difficult for me to sleep in hotels. I know what people have done on that mattress and no amount of bleach makes those things go away. One time my mom found a pair of mens bikini thongs (leopard print) shoved between the bed and the wall when she was looking for the remote control. I can fall asleep much easier when I bring my own pillow and sleeping bag. No touch-ee.
    

So I don't feel like a lonely weirdo, pa-leeze tell me one of your weird habits...
Someone I know (you know who you are) says that they don't have any.
hmf.