Photo Overload

Tonight, we went to see Santa.

Let's remember how last year went.

Lovely, right? We went to the mall after the Jingle Bell Run. He smiled. We bought the CD with the photos so we could print as many copies as we wanted. I used this picture in our Christmas card last year.

So how do you think this year went?

Yep.

He was fine and dandy until we walked up to Santa and then it was a full on MELTDOWN. We showed our concern for him by laughing hysterically. (Parents of the year!) Fortunately, we went to Bass Pro Shops, as you can tell from the logo in the corner, and they offer you a print FOR FREE. So we took our awesomely free awesome picture and skeedaddled. Better luck next year, Santa!

Let's look at some more flattering picture of my child, shall we? I mentioned last week that we were doing a photo shoot with my friend. And it was AWESOME. Jack wasn't in the best mood ever, but I was pretty sure we got a few good shots. I was supposed to get 15-ish edited pictures as part of the deal. Well. She just couldn't decide and gave me 58. Boo yah! Do not worry, I will not force you to look at all 58. I only uploaded 8 for you to see. But man, I love, love, love them. Snapfish was running a deal for 50% off their photobooks this week, so I took advantage of it since I had some beautiful shots of my beautiful baby. Enjoy!

Book Reviews, pt. 2

More! Books!

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - I had heard that this was really sad before I even picked it up and I figured I could handle it. A sad book can be a good book, ya know? But I feel as though sad isn't the right descriptor for this book. Devastating, maybe. Depressing, definitely. It's not just sad. It's morbid and sorrowful and not uplifting in any way, shape, or form. I can't recommend it in good conscious. It is definitely well written and the plot is very tight. But my goodness, this book HAUNTED me for days and days afterwards and all I wanted was for it to get OUT of my brain.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion - This book, on the other hand, is incredibly sad but also incredibly amazing. It's a non fiction book chronicling the author's survival of the first year after her husband death. It's so well written and honest, like a guide to her grief. I am hesitant to recommend it because it IS incredibly sad. About halfway through the book, I woke up Alex crying and whimpering, "I'm so glad you're not dead!" But while it IS sad, it is also serves as such a great reminder to keep your loved ones close. To appreciate them. To talk to them. To make good memories with them. Because you don't know how much longer you have with them.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - I was a little hesitant to read this book once I found out it was set in a circus. I'm not sure why since I haven't been to a circus since I was, I don't know, 6? But my fear of clowns knows no bounds and circus = clowns in my head. So imagine my joy when I realized there are no clowns in this book. There is, however, an elephant. And since I'm partial to elephants, that helped a lot. I liked this book quite a bit. It was sweet and romantic. (Also, I kept picturing Robert Pattinson as the dude since he's playing him in the movie adaptation. Which is a bummer...I like to make up the character's face in my head.)

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - I don't know. I didn't really have much of an opinion on it. I started reading this in 2008 and never finished it. But I was determined to finally finish it this year. And I did....that's about it. I guess I didn't care because I'd already seen the movie and I knew what happened? Or maybe because the whole thing feels really dated now. Maybe it's because I'm not single anymore. It is funny and it's a fun, quick read read. But...eh. Whatever. I can't work up enough excitement to write more about it.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler - Hoo boy. What can I say about this book? I wanted to like it. I really did. I felt like I SHOULD like it. But...I didn't. I felt like I was plowing through a school assignment with this one. It's quick and easy to read, so that's nice. But the language and characterization are SO dated. I had a hard time with the overt racism towards African Americans AND Jewish people, not to mention the REALLY sexist view of women. It was just so weird because none of the characters were really developed. I had trouble envisioning the world and the action. Not a fan. But I feel bad NOT recommending it since it's Raymond Chandler. So...yeah.

Book Reviews, pt. 1

So! Let's talk about books! I thought I'd do a series of posts on the ones I've read this year. I always like to see what people have read and why, so I'm hoping some of you enjoy these kind of posts as well. I will be very general on my opinions, so you can read this without fear of spoilers. Also, I've actually kept up the list of books I've read on the sidebar. So if you want individual links to Amazon for any books I talk about, there's a handy guide right there. So helpful, I am!

I've read 41 books this year. I was really proud of that number until I read a post on NPR yesterday by a guy who has read 104 books this year. 104! My word. He must not have small children. And not like television. And get paid to read books. (He does get paid to read books, actually.) He also picked Freedom as his favorite book of the year and I HEARTILY disagree with that assessment, but we'll get to that another time.

Let's start with the series books, shall we?

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz - This is a 5 book (so far) series of Young Adult vampire novels. They're entertaining, easy to read, and a nice distraction. But! They aren't particularly well written and the latest book in the series was a disappointment. There is a 6th book coming out at the end of this year which I've already pre-ordered for my Kindle. I'm interested to see if de la Cruz gets back on track with the plot in that one. However, if you enjoy silly vampire books, then I highly recommend these. It's a different take on the mythos of vampires, so it's a nice change of pace. Incidentally, that last book was the one Alex read when he was supposed to be reading The Hunger Games. Speaking of which....

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins - I believe I've mentioned these, oh a million times on this here blog. I love them. LOVE. THEM. They're well written, easy to read, extremely entertaining, and so, so, so well plotted. They're intense but not too stressful. Now, some people have criticized the third book, Mockingjay, for not ending the series well. Personally, I was pleased with the ending, but some parts of it were a let down. (It wasn't as crazy town as Breaking Dawn, but not as satisfying as The Deathly Hallows either.) With that said, do not let a potential bummer in the third book stop you from reading The Hunger Games. It's an excellent book all on its own.

The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson - See? I'm capable of reading non YA books as well! Probably everyone you know has read these books, and with good reason. They're fairly well written, interesting, and entertaining. It can be a little confusing at first because of all the Swedish names and locations. I found myself just making up my own pronunciations in order to get through the words I had no idea how to say. I also had a hard time getting into the first novel because there's a looooooooong exposition about some boring business fraud type thing. So don't let that stop you. Once you get past that, the mystery and intrigue really kicks in and it's hard to put the book down. They also eat a lot of sandwiches and drink a lot of coffee in these books. Like, it's INSANE. Lisbeth and Mikael exist on coffee and sandwiches alone. If you've read the first book, I highly recommend this parody video about the books. It mentions the coffee and sandwich thing too. But, uh, anyway, back to the actual books. I really enjoyed them and wish Larsson was still around to write more books about these characters. I found myself really invested in their welfare by the end of the first book and was sad to see them go in the last book.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan - There are 5 books in this series. I just read them over the Thanksgiving in Ohio family extravaganza. And they are great! They're written for the 5th to 9th grade set, so they're extremely easy to read and so much fun. Riordan does a really good job of getting the tone and voice right for the 12 year old characters. I enjoyed all the Greek mythology references, although I realized I had forgotten quite a bit from my English major nerd days. Again, I was sad to see these characters go when I finished the last books. Riordan has published the first book in a new series set in the same world, but with the focus on different characters. I have that book on my "to read" list because I loved these books so much. And! Some of the main characters from this series are in those books so I'm hoping I'll get my Percy Jackson fix from them. On a side note, Alex and I watched the movie, "The Lightning Thief" last week and it was HORRIBLE. Such a disappointment. So if you saw the movie, don't judge the books by it. The books are much, much, much better.

7 Quick Takes - 12/10/10

1. Living in a tiny apartment has its challenges. Particularly during Christmas time. Our tree BARELY fits in our "dining" area. I wrapped a bunch of presents last night and it was like a game of Tetris trying to fit them under the tree.

2. I am obsessed with Peppermint Mochas this time of year. My wallet, however, is not so pleased. So imagine my joy when I found that Coffeemate makes a Peppermint Mocha creamer! But be ye warned, buy the liquid and not powdered version. I don't care how much more it costs. It's WORTH it. Don't make my same mistake, dear reader!

3. I am having trouble sleeping lately. I'm attributing it to Christmas insomnia. I get all excited with presents and travel plans and decorations and then my mind will not turn off. At the rate I'm going, I'll be staying up all night by Saturday.

4. I'm taking Jack to get some professional pictures today. I have a friend who is a photographer on the side and she has her hands on a fancy professional camera and lens this weekend. I'm hoping to get a good shot for our Christmas card. I'm excited to share the results with you!

5. If you're looking for some free Christmas music, Amazon is doing 25 Days of Free again this year. And if you look around the site, they have a TON of free Holiday music samplers.

6. Jack got up at 5:15 this morning. Which means he went down for a nap at 10 am. That's going to make our photo session at 4 go really well!

7. Have you been watching The Sing Off? I really enjoyed both episodes last week. I'm sad that the kids from Kettering Fairmont were eliminated since I drove by their school every day when I lived in our old house. But there's still lots of good groups left and it's just such a fun show. You should check it out!

Christmas Deals

I just started typing one of the most boring posts of all time. And as I kept going, I realized it sounded stupid and lame and BLAH, WHO CARES ABOUT THE DETAILS.

So here is the short version:

I did a lot of Christmas shopping today.

Here are some good deals I found.

I got this nativity set for 25 bucks at Toys R Us. Which is the cheapest I have EVER seen it.


I also got a good deal at Toys R Us on this basketball hoop, which Santa will be bringing for Jack. (Seriously, I got it for cheaper than it is on AMAZON.) Curiously, it was cheaper at the smaller store I went to first, than at the GIANT Babies R Us/Toys R Us mega store I visited later in the day.


The best deal of the day was the Little People Racin' Ramps Garage. It was 40 bucks at Toys R Us and I had never seen it for less than 30 anywhere before. (It's currently 44.98 on Amazon.) I scored it at Target for 24 dollars! OH. YEAH. I was so excited I told the check out lady about it. She...didn't really care.



I also got 9 piece bath toy set for 5 bucks at Big Lots. Which doesn't sound like much, but considering bath toys are ridiculously expensive and it's IMPOSSIBLE to find a simple, floating BOAT for a BATHTUB for less than TWENTY DOLLARS, I was pretty excited. And Big Lots was my THIRD stop after failed attempts at the 99 cent store AND The Dollar Tree. I was SEEING boats everywhere by the time I got to Big Lots. Like, how hard is it to make a cheap bath toy for a stocking stuffer, people?

(And for those of you who might have a Wonder Pets fan in your family, Big Lots had a Fly Boat with Tuck for 10 bucks. I realize that sentence made NO sense to you if you've never watched The Wonder Pets before. And for that, my friend, you should be thankful. For those pets will HAUNT YOUR DREAMS.)

And I found a cute Christmas-y sweater for Santa pictures for a whopping 4.50 at Once Upon a Child.

As I told Alex in a breathless e-mail, I am a Christmas Shopping Ninja.

See? Boring! But exciting for me because I love a good deal. And I really wanted to share. Thank you.

You should watch this because it's pretty cool:

North Point's iBand from North Point Web on Vimeo.

Endurance

In general, I try not to blog about my family because they don't read this website. It seems unfair to post about someone and then not have the courtesy to let them know they're being talked about on the internet. But I have some thoughts that I need to get out. I promise to keep them general and you can promise not tell tell on me. Cool?

I have a family member who is not doing well. She seems to be giving up and I don't know how to deal with it. I'm feeling a wide array of emotions. Anger, sadness, and guilt, to name a few. What do you do when someone stops wanting to live? My initial reaction is to think that person is selfish. But then I think that maybe I am being the selfish one. After all, she's lived a long life. Her husband, mother, father, and most of her siblings have all died. Her oldest son is gone too. She buried a still born baby over 60 years ago. She's lost plenty of people in her life. Maybe she's just tired. Maybe she's ready to move on.

But man, I am NOT ready for her to leave. I have a son. I want more babies. I want her to know them. I want them to remember her. I consider it a great honor that I got to know my great grandfather who lived to be 102. She'll be 90 next year, so by my count, we've got a good 12 years left, ya know? And maybe when I'm 42 I can deal with her death better. But not now. Not now.

I feel guilty that I've let her down. I'm not delusional enough to think her life revolves around me, but maybe if I hadn't left. Maybe if I lived closer. Maybe if I had visited more. Maybe if I brought Jack to see her more often. Maybe she'd fight harder. Maybe she'd want to TRY to get better.

Maybe, maybe, maybe. I don't know how to talk to her about it. I don't know if I can. She's always been a fighter. This new "I don't want to" attitude is really throwing me off.

I need her to stay. I need her to stick around.

Please?

Seven Quick Takes - 12/3/10

1. Wait, it's been 2 1/2 weeks since I've blogged. What happened? Ah yes, that's right. A funeral, a baptism, Thanksgiving and an early Christmas. You know, the usual. And all of that happened in Ohio. Far far away from Texas.

2. Today, Jack turns 20 months old. I'm not really sure how that's possible since I gave birth to him just a few days ago. Seriously. 20 months! We're barreling into 2 years at a ridiculously fast rate.

3. I can't be the only person who hates Natalie Portman, right? These previews and commercials for Black Swan are driving me CRAZY. Go. Away. Natalie.

4. I wore a t-shirt and flip flops yesterday. I know a lot of people in the south resent the lack of cold weather and "real winter" during December, but I am not one of them. I really, really, really like not needing a winter coat. Really.

5. I am concerned about what to get Jack for Christmas. I have spent HOURS scouring the internet looking for gifts. I now have a giant spreadsheet FILLED with links to various toys. And I...don't feel any better prepared. It just means I have a ton of links to confuse me even more. Ack!

6. I seem to have lost my Kindle charger. And my Kindle is out of battery. Help!

7. I've been sitting here, staring at the screen for at least an hour trying to think of a 7th item. And I've got nothing. Nothing! I leave for 2 weeks and I can't even think of a 7th quick take. Loser.

Sworn Musical Enemies

We have SiriusXM in one of our cars and it has spoiled me. I always know what artist is singing what song, which is something that drives me crazy with old, normal radio. I always want to know who is singing what. ALWAYS. I'm sure Alex just loves the way I always ask him whose singing on the radio.

This morning, I heard a new-to-me song that...well...it sucked. I checked to see who was singing and saw that it was Sean Kingston. AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHHH! I IMMEDIATELY changed the station because I couldn't believe I'd let his voice into my car for as long as I had. You see, he is one of my sworn musical enemies.

I have many sworn musical enemies because I am a freak show when it comes to music. There are some artists that I irrationally hate. There's no rhyme or reason to it. I just can't stand certain artists to the point that they are enemy. Sometimes, it's just one song that puts them on this list. Here are a few:

John Mayer - He is, without a doubt, musical enemy #1. I have never even slightly liked one of his songs. I think they all blow. Plus, he is a total d-bag in real life. I can't understand his appeal AT ALL. I refuse to listen to any of his songs EVER.

Sean Kingston - It was that suicidal song, man. HATE. It makes ME suicidal. I've never liked any other song he's done since.

Colbie Cailait - I'm not really sure why I dislike her so. I didn't like the Bubbly song. And it's grown from there. And so far, nothing else she's done has made me like her.

Plain White T's - Oh my word, Hey There Delilah. It's like musical sauerkraut. Disgusting. (And yes, I know some of you really like that song, ahem Christy, but I just can't do it!) I heard their new song recently and yep, still can't stand 'em.

Two artists who used to be on this list and are now on the, 'I don't like them, but I tolerate a few of their songs now. BEGRUDGINGLY.' list.

Katy Perry - I've eased up slightly on my Katy Perry hate since California Gurls was pretty catchy and it had Snoop Dogg. (Although, ENOUGH with the stupid spelling ALREADY. You are a GROWN WOMAN, Katy. Not a moronic 12 year old.) And the Glee version of Teenage Dream is AMAZING. I actually don't like her version at all, but something about those a capella voices make that song extremely appealing.

Coldplay - This is one of those super popular things that I just don't get. I'm not a fan of Chris Martin's voice and I think most of their songs sound whiny. But man, do I love me some Violet Hill. Probably one of my favorite songs ever. It was, of course, not a very big hit for them, but it was enough to take them off of my sworn musical enemies list. (A list I'm sure they're THRILLED to be off of.)

What about you, dear readers? Any artist that bugs you for no good reason?

7 Quick Takes - Monday Edition!

1. I saw ANOTHER Alaska license plate today! I realize they are probably here because of the bazillion military bases in San Antonio, but Alaska! Seriously! That is so very far away!

2. Here's a picture of me from last Sunday in my new cardigan. I've worn it several times this week, so I can say it was a good investment. (Note: This was before All The Vomit.)

3. So we're leaving earlier than expected for Thanksgiving because we have to attend a family funeral. This means we're going to be in Ohio for two solid weeks. TWO WEEKS. I have this feeling that people are going to ask, "Did you guys move...back?"

4. I'm very nervous that I don't have enough warm clothes for Jack. I know this is going to shock you, but there's a pretty big temperature difference between south Texas and central Ohio. But I'm hesitant to buy a coat for him when he's not going to wear it very much. But at the same time, I don't want him to, ya know, FREEZE. I forsee many trips to baby re-sale shops in the next two weeks.

5. I've been trying to readjust my typing style and stop putting two spaces after a period. You guys, it's basically impossible. I've been typing since I was ten. (My mom taught me early because she used to be a typing teacher and COULD NOT STAND it when I used to look at the keys to type on our old word processor.) Twenty years of habit is very difficult to break. I'm constantly going back and deleting the extra space. I miss it!

6. Something my mom never taught me to use was excessive use of the caps lock key. That one I've learned all on my own. But! My old laptop is breaking down and the keyboard just can't handle it. I have to SLAM my finger on the caps lock key for it to work. It kinda hurts. Between that and my constant backspacing after EVERY sentence, posting is getting painful.

7. I started this post hours ago and still can't think of a good item for number 7. In that time, I dropped off Alex's suit at the dry cleaners and then went to pick up (yet another) prescription for Jack. And, of course, our insurance didn't cover Jack's medicine, so I came home empty handed. Which is depressing since he needs something for this cough that he's got going on. And yes, I know that was just as boring as it sounds, but I've had this window open for HOURS now and I just can't take any more staring at this screen. There are grilled cheese sandwiches that need to be eaten.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Well, I was going to embed this, but it's been disabled for this video. So, please, click here and enjoy the Literal Video Version of Total Eclipse of the Heart. It never fails to make me laugh. And I think we can all use a laugh today.

Idiocy, thy name is Cora

So! Guess who is a big stupid head? Go on! Guess!

If you said, "Cora!" then you're right! And infinitely smarter than I am!

So tonight, Alex, Jack and I went to the Olive Garden to eat dinner because we are nothing if not suckers for good carbs. And what better excuse to eat carbs than a half marathon. Am I right? The place was super crowded with other racers and I noticed some people were already wearing the t-shirt. I was surprised that they already had them, but I figured they were those over achiever types who like to check in to things early. I used to be that person until I became a mother. Now I just show up and hope things work out. (See: this morning when we breezed into Gymboree for a make up class and I had NO IDEA if we were at the right class until I got a good look at the sign in sheet.)

I started looking up information for where we needed to go in the morning while we were at the restaurant but my phone is super slow and Jack wasn't exactly being helpful, what with the walking away and insistence on sitting on the cold ground outside. So I gave up and figured I'd take care of everything once we got home.

We came home, after a quick trip to HEB to pick up milk and bananas for a good pre-race breakfast tomorrow morning, and for some reason that still remains a mystery to me, I cleaned the bathroom. Don't ask me why, but I thought I'd throw in that little tidbit to show that I'm growing as a person.

After the bathroom met my (admittedly, low) standards of clean, I got online to figure out all the race day stuff. There was a confirmation sheet that I needed to print, so I went ahead and printed that up and started looking at the different options for parking and drop off.

I grabbed the paper off of the printer and saw this:

NO RACE NUMBER PICK-UP ON RACE DAY

Yes, that's right. No race number pick-up on Race Day. Which is TOMORROW.

I FREAKED out and started clicking on links and going through the FAQ and sure enough, I was supposed to have already picked up my race packet. I needed to do it yesterday or today by 5 pm. I'm screwed.

I can't run the race, y'all. I CAN'T RUN THE RACE.

I can't find anything, anywhere that'll let me somehow magically pick up the race packet tomorrow. The FAQ's basically say, "Sorry! Hope you planned accordingly!"

I...can't believe it. Like, seriously? Months of training down the tube. (Not to mention the 90 dollar registration fee.) A life long goal. Done. Over. All gone. Gone! Because I didn't get the memo about the registration pick up.

According to the website, I should have gotten an e-mail about the race, which I most assuredly did not. And with the sickness from this week and the bad news of Friday, the LAST thing on my mind was checking into the race. It didn't even occur to me to look up registration info today because all along, I've assumed I could pick up my number tomorrow morning.

I am an idiot.

Sad

I just got some devastating news and really don't feel like posting anything, much less a fluffy, random post. I know this month is shaping up to be a month of cop out posts what with the sickness and all, but dude. I just can't post more than this today.

Half Marathon Update

So. About that half marathon.

Here's the thing. I'm still sick. I'm not throwing up or anything like that, but I'm still existing on saltines and chicken soup. Any time I try to throw in something else, I get nauseous. And sometimes, even my blessed saltines make me feel like crap. I can only drink Sprite without feeling worse. Gatorade is NOT an option and I'm okay if I sip water. I'm also still having...other gastrointestinal issues that I won't go into detail about. But I'm sure you can guess what often goes along with vomiting. Right?

It's not awful or anything, just really, really, really annoying. I think I'll be feeling better and then I do too much and BAM! I'm back on the couch regretting whatever it is I just tried.

So running? Not on my list of things to do.

And the half marathon? Is in 3 days.

I'm really disappointed. There is NO WAY I'm going to be able to run it. NO WAY. Granted, I was never going to smoke it or anything, but this? This isn't how I planned for it all to go down. I feel like a failure. Every time I think about the race, I get that awful "I've got a test that I haven't studied for" feeling. I am trying not to cry while I type this stupid entry. I was going to post about this last night, but couldn't bring myself to do it, so I posted about a baby monkey on a pig instead. (Baby monkey! Woo! Woo!) (Which, in all fairness, is way cuter and more entertaining than me (virtually) crying on your shoulder about my FAILURE.)

So I'm going to try and walk it. I'm hoping, hoping, hoping I'll be feeling well enough to walk without needing to take some *ahem* unpleasant bathroom breaks. If I'm feeling well enough, I'd love to try and jog a mile or two, but I honestly don't know how I'm going to feel on Sunday. (I assumed I'd be feeling fine today and that hasn't happened yet.)

I know it's not the end of the world. I know there will be other races. I know this is no big deal. But it's not shaping up on how I thought it would. And I'm disappointed more than I can describe. I feel like I'm letting myself down. And I feel like I'm letting YOU down since I've been forcing you to read about it for so long.

I'm sorry.

Some days you have stuff to say.

And some days you just have to post a video of a baby monkey riding on a pig. (Baby monkey!)

Misguided Reader

So far, no one has vomited today. Success! Jack and I still feel icky, so we're going to spend the day in our pajamas, eat pedialyte popsicles, and watch the Wonder Pets. (I realize I'm tempting fate my blogging about NOT vomiting, as Jack and I both puked after posting the last two days.)

Anyway, let's talk about something not as gross, shall we?

Earlier this year, I read The Hunger Games and would NOT shut up about it. Unfortunately, I knew no one in real life who had read it so I begged Alex to read it so I'd have someone to talk to about the book.

It should come as no shock to you that he never read the book.

I did, however, convince some friends to read it and they loved it as much as I did. I had so much fun on the cruise talking to them about the book, especially because they both finished it while we were on the boat. When I got home, I asked Alex once again to read the book because I was convinced he would love it. I'm not really sure why it was so important to me that he read the book as well, but it's something I haven't been able to let go.

(A part of me still thinks I can turn my husband into a reader.)

(Ha!)

(And also, HA!)

He promised to read it on the plane to and from his guys' weekend this past week. So I gave him my Kindle and sent him on his merry way.

Friday night, I texted him and asked if he started reading it. He said he was 30% through and it was pretty good. I was really excited that he was enjoying the book and figured he'd finish it early this week. And then...I'm not sure what? We'd sip tea and discuss the finer plot points? I don't know. Point is: I wanted him to finish the book already.

Last night, he told me he was 71% through the book and that it was "really starting to pick up." I looked at him funny because things don't really "pick up" in The Hunger Games. It's a pretty intense book from start to finish. And THEN he said something that had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the plot of The Hunger Games. In fact, what he said was a plot point of a YA vampire novel.

Me: You aren't reading The Hunger Games.

Him: Yes, I am!

Me: There are NO VAMPIRES in The Hunger Games.

Him: There aren't? Are you sure?

Me: You've been reading Misguided Angel, which is the fifth book in a silly vampire series.

Him: (taking the Kindle out) Oh.

Y'all, he read the wrong book. He read the WRONG book. HE READ THE WRONG BOOK.

I have spent months (MONTHS!) trying to get him to read this freaking book and he finally sits down and reads a BLUE BLOODS NOVEL instead.

And do you know what he said when we figured this out? "Thank goodness because it was NOT very good. I read Mrs. G's post today about it and was like...really? This isn't all that great."

OY.

Better but...

So I'm feeling much better today.

My kid? Not so much. He's puked twice now and I am PRAYING that he doesn't have what I did. Which is why you're getting lame-o blog post numero dos right now.

I'm sorry. I hope I can write about something non-vomit related tomorrow.

Misery

So sick. Typing this from bed. On my phone. Please say the puking is over.

The Winner

I know! I'm surprised too. I went to the store today, determined to buy the gray cardigan. The current votes were 3-2 in favor of the gray.

But then I tried the black one on again, so I could show my mom. And well...I had my doubts. The black one really is more flattering. And it's a tad bit dressier. And when it came down to it, I just LIKED it better.

So I decided that I should probably buy something that I liked. Even though it's not as versatile. I might totally regret this decision, but ah well. At least I have one cute cardigan, right? Plus, I am planning on using Phil's advice and stalking the gray one until it goes on super sale and get it too.

I'll try to remember to take a picture of me wearing it tomorrow so you can see how it looks with something cute.

Thanks for y'all's help! I should ALWAYS consult the internet on my clothing purchases!

7 Quick Takes - 11/5/10

1. My parents are here and Alex is out of town, so I'm using his computer. (My mom is borrowing my laptop.) It feels so weird and wrong to be sitting at a desk and using a normal keyboard.

2. We went to the zoo today. And we saw both a rhinoceros and an elephant pee. I could have gone MY ENTIRE LIFE without seeing that. It was a little traumatic. Hopefully wee little Jack won't be scarred for life.

3. In the last two weeks, I have seen a car with an Alaska license plate and one with a Hawaii plate. Isn't that bizarre? Also? How much does it cost to ship your car from Hawaii? Because I just ordered a copy of Jack's birth certificate and it was obnoxiously expensive. I can't imagine shipping a CAR.

4. With my parents here, we've been eating out a lot. So far we've had fried catfish and burgers from Five Guys. Clogged arteries, ahoy!

5. And my mom bought me an Icee today. I've been an on Icee ban in order to be healither (more on this in a bit), but I did get one a few weeks ago as a little post-cruise pick me up. Other than that, I've been Icee free for months. But my mom offered and I caved. After all, who doesn't want a free Dr. Pepper Icee?

6. So. This health thing. It's really frustrating. I haven't mentioned it much lately, probably because I could write a full post on it, but I haven't lost ANY WEIGHT. Despite the fact that I have been consistently working out and eating well for MONTHS. I mean, I could be eating EVEN healthier, but I've been pretty darn good. And nothing. NOTHING. I wanted to punch myself in the face the ENTIRE cruise because all the other girls were all so cute and skinny and I looked like a swollen marshmallow.

7. Thanks for the votes on the great Cardigan Debate of 2010. I think I'm going to go with the gray one. I'm taking my mom to Kohl's tomorrow to make the final decision. I'll be sure to let y'all know which one I purchase. I am sure you're all losing sleep over it and I promise the wait will be over tomorrow!

Back to the Past

First: My parents will be arriving here in about an hour and the house is already clean. I'm not sure how that happened. I guess I'm becoming more responsible?

Anyway.

Today's big trending hashtag on Twitter was #tweetyour16yearoldself.

A lot of them were funny. And it seemed like most people wanted to warn their younger selves away from making dumb mistakes. It took me a while to come up with something, but I eventually posted this:

You're really skinny, enjoy it. Put on some make up. OH, and it's best just to avoid the boys until you're 26.

Because, dude, I was quite skinny and had NO IDEA. I had no concept of how to dress myself, either. I also didn't wear make up AT ALL until I was well into my 20's. And sometimes I wish I had had more fun being pretty when I was younger. Or at least put some mascara on. I look back and think, what was I trying to accomplish? I guess I always felt like I was dressing up and someone would call me out for not being pretty enough for cute clothes or make up. And I KNOW I was terrified of being noticed. So I dressed in baggy clothes and stayed away from make up. Silly, silly, silly me.

I threw in the last sentence as a future life warning. Boys were a non-issue for me at sixteen, and this wasn't #tweetyour22yearoldself, but I figure if 16 year old me got that memo, then 22 year old me might not be such an idiot. I figure it couldn't hurt.

I thought about adding in that DC Talk is not the end all be all of music. And that getting those straight A's and that seal on your diploma? So not worth it. Take the half day your senior year instead!

What about you? Any advice you'd give your 16 year old self?

Help Me Buy a Cardigan

Internet! I need your help!

First of all, it is finally cold enough in Texas to wear sweaters. I suppose it was bound to happen at some point, so here we are. Sweater weather...at least in the morning. I actually didn't wear one yesterday because living in Ohio for seven years has hardened my exterior to the point that I don't feel cold until it is AT LEAST 40 degrees. It's...kind of awesome, actually.

Anyway. While I have a plethora of coats and hoodies, my cardigan collection is lacking. As in, I own maybe 2? 3 at the most. And I only like one of them. AND they are brown, which is fine and dandy, except brown doesn't go with everything.

Which means I am in need of a black or gray cardigan. I was originally set on getting a black one, but then I got to thinking that gray would be better because I could wear the gray with my black sweaters/t-shirts and not clash too much. I was hoping to find a dark gray cardi that would be dressy enough I could throw it on over some of my short sleeve dresses and wear it to church without looking like a moron.

I found myself at Kohl's this morning. (Yes, I FOUND myself there. Definitely didn't drive there with a purpose or anything.) I love Kohl's because all you have to do is wait and things will go on sale and then they will give you a coupon for even MORE off. I found two candidates that I think will work, but I can't decide which one. This is where you come in. I need some opinions on which one is better! I have to choose only one, so the answer "both" is not an option. (As much as I'd like it to be.)

First up, we have a black, open front cardigan from Apt. 9.



Cute, right? It's on sale for 25 bucks and is the style I was looking for. Here is a picture of me actually wearing it. (Please forgive my unwashed appearance, complete with day old, smudged mascara under my eyes.)


(I also just realized I look REALLY fat in this picture. When will I learn to stop pulling my chin into my neck? I don't really feel like cropping my face out of this picture, so believe when I say I don't weigh 300 pounds.)

Anyway, the cardigan is actually black, even though it looks navy blue in the picture.

Next up, we have this gray sweater from Elle. It's on sale for 30 bucks.



Again, open front. But this one is much longer in the back and has a little bit more complicated front. Here I am modeling it in the store:



Blurry, but you get the point.

I feel as though the gray looks more flattering in the pictures, but I think that's because I didn't have it pulled over mah boobs, which are large-ish. (TMI! Welcome male readers that are not my husband!) In real life, I felt as though the black was a bit more flattering. HOWEVER, the gray one looked just fine and it might be more versatile? If the gray one had been darker, then I think I would just go for it. But it's lighter shade (and higher price...5 whole dollars!) are giving me pause.

So what do you think? Gray or black? Help a sister out!

Doughnuts!

So. I went to bed at 6:30 last night. Mostly because I just couldn't stay awake anymore. I was so exhausted, that Alex laughed at me when I claimed I was only gong to lay down "for a little bit."

I got up at 5 am this morning. And I was INCREDIBLY productive from 5 to 8 am. Like, AMAZINGLY productive. Maybe this is what I need to do every night? Get a ton of sleep and then do a lot in the wee hours of the morning when my two boys are still sleeping? Maybe. But I doubt it'll happen.

Of course, I'm really tired right now at 4 pm, so my current goal is to try and make it until AT LEAST 8 pm this evening. Progress!

In other news, I brought doughnuts to my MOPS group this morning. (I wasn't being NICE or anything, by the way. It was my table's turn to provide breakfast for the whole group.) I went to Shipley's Donuts for 2 dozen doughnuts and my word, they are DELICIOUS. The problem is that only 18 were eaten at the meeting. Which means I took 6 home. Which means there are only 4 left. Because I ate not one, but TWO (2!) for lunch. I have no self control people. NONE.

Also, I managed to not do a single housework-related chore the entire time the baby napped. Which was for THREE HOURS. I am the least successful housewife OF ALL TIME.

NaBloPoMo is here!

It's November 1st, which means it's time for NaBloPoMo again! Frankly, I can barely believe that it's November ALREADY, but the calendar tells me it is so and the calendar does not lie.

So prepare yourselves for the very best in mediocre blogging for the next 30 days. Woo! Hoo!

7 Quick Takes - I Miss the Caribbean Edition

1. I went on a 4 day cruise to Cozumel last week with some of my very best friends/most awesome people in the world. I wish I was still on this ship right now.



2. Alex and I went to Cozumel last year on our anniversary cruise, so I actually knew what to expect this time. We decided to just go to a free beach for a few hours in the afternoon and it was beautiful. I never ever wanted to leave.



3. We did some shopping in Cozumel as well. We docked at a different pier from last time, so I got to see some different shops and some pretty tourist-y areas that we missed last time.



4. Also, we ate A LOT. I don't have many food pictures to share, probably because I was too excited to start DEVOURING the food the second it was placed in front of me. But it was all so good and it was so nice not to have worry about the dishes or cleaning up afterwards. I also probably gained 5 pounds, but let's not talk about that, shall we?

5. Before said trip, I purchased the most amazing travel mug of all time. It's a Contigo Stainless Steel mug. I purchased it at Costco, which is why I'm linking to those particular tops, but it is AMAZING. It keeps my beverages hot long beyond the promised 4 hours. And it DOES NOT LEAK. I accidentally knocked it over the other day and nothing spilled out. I highly, highly, highly recommend them.

6. In all the cruise hub bub, I forgot about getting Jack's costume in time for the Parents' Day Out celebration on Wednesday. So I spent several hours Tuesday night going from big-box-store to big-box-store, trying to find a costume. I eventually found the perfect costume at the 2nd Target I went to, a half an hour before they closed. Way to go loser Mom! (Also, I haven't bought any candy yet either. Nor have I taken my child to a pumpkin patch. I suck!)

7. Jack looked really cute in his costume.

Parent's Day Out and Sweating it Out

This was Jack's first week at Parent's Day Out. It's Monday and Wednesdays from 9-2. That is 10 full hours spent away from me. I fully admit that I had a FULL ON FREAK OUT last weekend. I completely regretted my decision to enroll him and basically drove Alex bonkers with my fretting. I sent out texts about my fears. I cried. I paced nervously. I panicked that my son was going to hate me for the rest of his life.

It was FINE.

Kid didn't even cry. Granted, I sneaked away so he wouldn't see me leave and have his very own FULL ON FREAK OUT, but still. He was happily playing when I left and happily snacking when I picked him up. His teachers told me he only got teary when it was nap time. Which I totally expected because he is used sleeping in a big boy bed, while a parent reads to him and lays down with him while he drifts into dreamland.

Which...yes, let's talk about that, shall we?

My kid is a hustler. Straight up.

He slept in a crib at Parent's Day Out. A CRIB. Homeboy hasn't slept in a crib since he was 2, maybe 3, months old. He hated his crib. HATED IT. He would fall asleep in our arms and instantly awake the second he hit the mattress. And then he would scream bloody murder. He acted like I was ripping him apart, limb by limb, if I put him in the crib so I could do things like, I don't know, go to the bathroom. (Oh, how long for those halcyon immobile days when I could pee without a small person standing next to me, hitting me in the back with the toilet seat.) We co-slept mostly out of laziness because it was SO MUCH EASIER to sleep with him than fight the crib fight. We moved him to a big boy bed very early because we were desperate (desperate!) for him to sleep in his own room and the crib was NOT. AN. OPTION.

We were hustled. HUSTLED. That child has napped two days this week with STRANGERS in a CRIB. If I were one to use such phrases, I would offer a great big WTF to this. Because seriously? SERIOUSLY? My own child has been playing me for a full year now. I had no idea crib sleeping was even an option for him anymore. Do you know how much easier that would have been? GAH.

Also, I have joined the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at our church and it's been great fun to meet new moms and we even had a MOPS-wide play date this week. It was at this indoor playground place with lots of slides and bouncy houses and other child-friendly items. Jack had a really great time and I got to talk to lots of different moms. The only problem was that I was sweating like I was at the gym. Seriously. I had to go to the bathroom to TOWEL OFF. The owners apparently turn the air conditioning off at night to save on costs, so when we arrived at 10 am that morning, they had only just turned the AC on. And oh my word, it was so embarrassing. My forehead was glistening, I had sweat stains on my arm pits, my back had a line of sweat, even my CHEST was sweating. MY CHEST. I looked like I had just run 3 miles, not just sent my son down a slide 3 times. I wanted to leave, but Jack was having a great time, so I stayed for him. To everyone's credit, they still talked to me even though I was covered in a layer of sweat from head to toe. I'm just afraid they're going to remember me as "that sweaty girl in the Saints shirt" instead of, you know, MY NAME.

Seven Quick Takes - 8/27/10

1. So I got up and went to the gym at 5:30 this morning. I know I won't shut up about it, but I just can't get over it. And if you know me, then you know that is a HUGE deal. I am not a morning person AT ALL. (My friends from college are groaning and snickering all at the same time.) So for me to get up that early for the express purpose of EXERCISING? Well, the world might stop spinning.

2. I went to a spin class where the instructor announced, "I just have to embarrass Frank here, but tomorrow is his 75th birthday." And then! Then! At the end of class, he asked Frank (I have no idea if that is his name or not.) if he was going to ride tomorrow for his birthday, because he remembered when he rode 70 miles to celebrate his 70th birthday. What! What? I cannot do that now and I am THIRTY. This man is my new hero.

3. We found a Parent's Day Out program for Jack! I am so excited for him to start "school." I know a lot of moms get all misty at the thought of their baby starting school, but not me! I am PUMPED that he gets to spend time with kids his age and learn how to socialize without Momma holding his hand. Plus, I think the break will help me be a better parent.

4. I took Jack to the gym with me yesterday and he actually survived in the day care the entire time! They called me to come get him right at the end of my run, so I finished up and hustled down there. I assumed they called me because he was having a melt down, but nope, he had just pooped. I've never been so happy to hear he had pooped in his life.

5. I am in the market for a cute, potentially chunky, long necklace. And I need it to look good with a dark purple tank with ruffles along the top. I'm going to check out Kohl's today because I would also like it to be cheap. I'm a little nervous because I am not very good at accessorizing. I might wind up looking like a moron.

6. My kid loves Super WHY. My inner book nerd is so proud.

7. Have I mentioned that I got a new flat iron for my birthday? Because I did. And it is AWESOME. Life changing, even. I picked this one based on its good reviews on Amazon. And I am happy to report that is well worth the money. (It was cheaper at Wal-Mart, where my parents bought it.) I don't even have to dry my hair at night anymore. I can just let it air dry and get all weird and frizzy and the next morning, the flat iron makes it ALL GO AWAY. It is AMAZING.

7 Quick Takes - 8/20/10

1. When I got home from play group this morning, I noticed that I had huge wet spots on my abdomen. Like...directly under my bra. Underboob sweat. SEXY.

2. Maybe that's why nobody talked to me very much?

3. I'm currently reading The Passage. It's...a little disturbing. And kind of depressing. I mean, I'm enjoying it and am planning on finishing it. But I can't honestly say that I will recommend it to anyone. It's like The Road meets Alien, so if that's your thing, then this is the book for you.

4. I am planning on taking a break from The Passage to read Mockingjay next week because it finally, finally, finally comes out on Tuesday. I've already pre-ordered it to be delivered to my phone the day it comes out, so I can begin reading it IMMEDIATELY. And yes, I am doing a nerd dance as I type this.

5. I am now on Week 8 of my 10K training. However, I am ditching the 10K training on Monday to begin half marathon training. Oh yeah, baby, I am DOING IT.

6. I had Sesame Street on this morning to help distract Jack while I got everything ready to go to play group. He managed to find the remote and changed the channel to ESPN. I guess he likes football better than Abby Cadabby. Alex is very proud.

7. Jack thinks he can swim. I took him to the pool earlier this week and he kept trying to break away from me. I had brought a covered floatie for him to ride in, but, of course, he got tired of it after a while. I took him out and was letting him play in the water while I held him, but I guess I'm no fun because he kept trying to dive away. It was frustrating, to say the least. But at least he's not scared of water like his momma?

First Haircut

So! Jack's hair. It was long. Very, very, very long. He was regularly mistaken for a girl. My parents would not SHUT UP about how he needed a hair cut. It was starting to get straggly. His bangs were in his eyes. It was time. So I decided I wanted the first hair cut to be a part of my big birthday celebration. Alex resisted at first, because he wanted the day to be about me, but I insisted since it was such a convenient time to get it done.

Of course, we took plenty of pictures before we left.
Self portrait of mother and child.

I think he looks so cute in this picture, even though the window is GROSS.

Shaggy!

We went to a place called Sharkey's that is close to our gym. They had TV's in front of every station, and as you can see, Jack got to sit in the red car from the movie, Cars. I have no idea what that car's name is, but I know Owen Wilson voiced the character and always said, "Ka chow! Ka chow!" They also had a Sesame Street DVD playing for Jack to help calm him.

It didn't help much.

A merciful Elmo break.

He REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hated the clippers.

At this point, I feel as though I should point out that I did NOT cry. Jack was so stressed, that I went into full on Mommy comfort mode. So I didn't have time to think about what a momentous occasion it was or how he was becoming a little boy before my very eyes. Instead, I just kept trying to distract him from the nice lady with the scissors.

He still looked upset even after it was all over with. He, of course, then threw a fit when we took him OUT of the car. Toddlers! So unreasonable!

Side view!

Finally smiling now that he got to chase a balloon around for a little while.

As you can see, he looks COMPLETELY different. We keep joking that he looks like a little banker. Alex kept asking him for investment advice. He definitely looks more like a little boy and less like a baby now. Which hurts my heart in about a million zillion different ways. He's only 16 months old! He is still MAH BAYBEE!!!! And yet, there he is getting hair cuts and talking about investments with his friend at Wal-Mart.


I'm handling it pretty well though. I miss his old hair a lot. I loved the curls and the hobo look. I think it'll be a while before we're ready to cut his hair again. I keep telling myself that he has to be a lot cooler now, so it was really a good thing. That reasoning doesn't work, but it's a nice thought.

The good news is that he's not totally grown up yet. If he were, I couldn't take pantsless pictures like this and post them on the internet.
And he's still my baby because I still eat his thighs. I mean, LOOK AT THEM. How can you resist? Nom nom nom nom.

7 Quick Takes - I'M STILL ALIVE edition

1. I'm still here! I'm sorry! I've been busy!

2. I was at my parents' house last week, which is a black hole of communication and technology. There is no internet. There is no cell phone reception. There is no cable. They don't even have a land line phone. It was frustrating, to say the least. But hey! I read a lot!

3. I know you've all been wondering how my running is going. I'm on Week 7 of my 10K training. I'm still really, really, really, really slow. But I keep going! I've just about convinced myself that I'm going to do the half marathon in November, even if I have to walk half of it.

4. Alex and I went to the gym together last night. We haven't done that yet because we are both weenies when it comes to leaving Jack at the child care center. I got stuck with the dirty job of actually LEAVING him there and he was none too pleased, but he wasn't crying, so we bolted. You know where this is going right? Guess whose workout was cut short due to a crying child? But! He totally only wanted me and refused to go to Alex. Favored parent status confirmed!

5. We also got Jack's hair cut on Wednesday, which also happened to be my 30th birthday. I have a post started on the awesomeness of my birthday and hopefully I'll get to finish it this weekend. The hair cut part? Well...not so awesome. It deserves a post of its own, but you have been warned! Weepy, my baby is all grown up post is in queue.

6. You'd think I'd be OVERFLOWING with things to talk about since I haven't blogged in a month. You'd be wrong.

7. I ran into a die hard Cubs fan today at Wal-Mart. (I was wearing my (new!) Cubs shirt. It's not like he just walked up to me and asked if I was a Cubs fan.) Y'all, Cubs fans are EVERYWHERE. And they are all the same. They are all so hopeful that their team is going to get to the World Series someday. Bless their little hearts.

Seven Quick Takes - 7/16/10

1. We've been attending a local, gigantic church for a few months now. We haven't really met anyone yet, mostly because the place is so massive. So in a fit of, 'I need to get more involved!' guilt, I decided to volunteer for VBS next week. And y'all, I had to fill out three pages of paperwork, including a BACKGROUND CHECK, and provide a copy of my driver's license. It's the most extensive work I've ever had to do just to volunteer to help kids with glue or serve cookies or whatever job I've been assigned. And Jack and I have to be at the church at 8 am everyday. Ha! Ha! Haaaaaaaaaaaa!

2. I'm sure y'all are dying to know the latest in the continuing adventures of hippie living. I am allergic to certain natural deodorants. Oh yes, you read that right. NATURAL deodorant. As far as I can tell, I'm not allergic to them all, but I am MOST DEFINITELY allergic to Tom's of Maine Long Lasting Deodorant. I think it's the zinc ricinoleate that did me in. I'll spare you the details, but know that an itchy, red rash on your underarms is NOT desirable. Did I mention the itchy part? Because ITCHY, ITCHY, ITCHY.

3. As a result of the rash, I've been trying to wear as little deodorant as possible to allow my poor, wretched armpits time to heal. As you can imagine, I am a DELIGHT to be around! I smell so fresh and wonderful in the 100 degree heat! What a wonderful time of the year to have a deodorant aversion!

4. I am incapable of spelling deodorant correctly. I put an "e" where the second "o" is. I have misspelled it EVERY SINGLE TIME I've written it in this post.

5. I parented solo for 3-ish days this week. And I am proud to report that it was not nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Honestly, I was dreading it. Obviously I spend everyday alone with Jack, but I won't lie and say that I don't countdown the hours until Alex gets home. I need the break, ya know? Especially when it comes to bedtime, but if there is one thing that I absolutely loathe about parenting, it is BEDTIME. HATE. IT. But we survived! And Alex is back and I can now tell you about it without worrying that someone was going to come kill me in the night!

6. Wednesday morning, Jack and I were leaving the apartment to head to Gymboree when I realized that my car was uh, not there. I was like...NO WAY, SOMEONE STOLE MY CAR. And then I noticed it under the covered parking near our apartment. I never park there because you 1) have to pay for the privilege and 2) get towed if you don't. So I never ever ever park there. And yet, there was my car. I couldn't remember exactly where I had left the car, but I knew it had been directly in front of our place. Nothing was missing and everything seemed okay. Plus, Jack and I had been double locked in our apartment since 10:30-ish the previous morning. So there was no way someone had somehow gotten our spare keys. Alex and I think they started to tow my car because they missed our resident sticker and then realized and had to put it back. Why they didn't try to put the car back in its original space, I have no idea. But let me tell you, if you want to have a nice little freak out and question your mental capacity, have someone move your car without your knowledge. That'll do it!

7. I can't spell privilege either. There's no "d!" I can't handle it!

Ack!

So my baby turned 15 months old over the weekend. I have a big old list of stuff he is doing these days that I will post later. (Or never. Whichever.)

We had his well baby visit today, except that HA HA, he's not well at all. We took him in knowing he wasn't feeling awesome and surprise, surprise! He has strep throat. PARENTS OF THE YEAR, Y'ALL. We had NO IDEA he was that sick. NONE. The least the kid could do is ACT sick. But nooo...he just acts tired and we just had a big road trip, so we contributed it to that. So we bring him into the office and we're all...yeah, he's not quite himself, ya know?

And then the nurse is like...he has a fever.

And the doctor is like...his throat is really red.

And the strep test is like...POSITIVE.

So he's sick. For the first time ever. It's almost a relief to finally get this over with. Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed him NOT being sick, but I knew it was going to happen at some point, and I was really dreading it. But so far, so good. He was super extra snuggly this morning and went down for his nap with no protest, so I can't really complain, so really, him being sick has been AWESOME for me. But I felt just AWFUL when they told me had strep. Poor little baby! I got that ALL THE TIME when I was a kid and it sucks. And I had no idea! I am an idiot!

I picked up his antibiotics tonight and about 30 minutes after his first dose, he was HEALED COMPLETELY. Suddenly, he was no longer tired or snuggly or mopey. He wanted to run! And play! And throw things! I'm not sure what was in those 3.5 mm of white stuff, but it was MAGIC, y'all. MAGIC. And we've got 10 more days of it. Hooray?

Seven Quick Takes - 7/2/10

1. Thank you for all the kind comments from Wednesday's post. Y'all are the best. I'm glad I have such nice friends/readers.

2. Many, many, many congratulations to my brother and sister-in-law who delivered a beautiful baby girl yesterday morning. I'm so excited to be an aunt!

3. Have I ever mentioned that there is a trainer at my gym who looks EXACTLY like my ex-boyfriend? It freaks me out EVERY TIME I see him. The resemblance is UNCANNY and in my head, this guy's name is totally the same as my ex. I hope I never have to interact with him because I'd probably accidentally call him that.

4. We watched Top Chef last night. And dude, this season's cheftestants are not very nice. I don't really like any of them at all. I miss Kevin from last season.

5. I went dress shopping yesterday for a shower that I'm going to this weekend.
Cute, eh?

6. Jack pooped in the tub this morning. So that tells you the kind of day we're having. Plus, he woke up around 1 this morning and was up for hours. I'm so tired and Alex is so tired and we have an 8+ hour drive ahead of us today. Caffeine IV stat!

7. So. Elmo's World. It's a little weird, isn't it? I really dislike Mr. Noodle. He is creepy. And Mr. Noodle's brother, Mr. Noodle? I can't look at him without thinking of his death scene in The Green Mile. Right now, Elmo is talking to a bicycle and a helmet. It's bizarre. And I don't think caffeine will help me make any sense of it.

Down

Somedays, I just can't do it. The kitchen is a wreck. The bathroom is disgusting. Baskets of (clean) clothes are piled up. Toys and books are scattered across every room. Our shoes (How do we own so many shoes?) are strategically placed for everyone to trip over regularly. The trash needs to be taken out. The mail hasn't been checked in over a week. I yell at the baby. I yell at my husband. I pay more attention to my computer than my child. I fail at being a good friend. I fail at making new friends. I wonder who I am beyond Jack's mom and Alex's wife. I vaguely remember there was a time when I had hobbies and interests of my own, but I don't know what they were or how to even access that part of my brain. Instead, I sit on the couch and cry and eat a few cookies. Also, I am very, very, very fat.

I know I should end this post with the positives. Point out that the baby snuggled up to me earlier and we laid there and read books while he rested his head on the crook of my arm. Or that my husband doesn't really care that the house is a wreck and insists that if it DOES bother him, he can clean it up himself. Or that my friends are awesome and forgiving and really great at e-mailing. Or that I have a (legal) copy of photoshop just waiting for me to play with it. And a stack of books beckoning me to read them.

But I can't. I don't want to. I just feel like a big fat failure today and everything I touch is ruined. I want to hide under the covers and sleep for a thousand years.

Seven Quick Takes - 6/25/10

1. The baby voluntarily went down for a nap today. An EARLY nap, no less. I really don't know what to do with myself.

2. I've completed week one of my 10K training. Today starts Week 2 and frankly, I am TERRIFIED. Pretty sure I'm going to die right there on the treadmill for all the world (read: my fellow gym goers) to see.

3. We went to Bass Pro Shop last night. I am not a fan Bass Pro Shop, BUT my husband is and he rarely gets to go to a store that only HE wants to visit. He went to look at guns and I was left in charge of the baby. He and I wandered around until we saw the best thing ever. Shoes! I had NO IDEA they had such a large shoe section. I told Alex that if he wanted me to go to Bass Pro earlier, all he had to do was mention the shoes.

4. I bought some brown Reef flip flops at Bass Pro.
I love them.

5. I found a blue doll stroller at Babies R Us yesterday. I've been wanting to get Jack a doll stroller for a while now, because he loves to push his OWN stroller around. So far, it has been a hit and it warms my heart to see him pushing his sock monkey around the apartment.

6. Jack and I colored today for the first time. I got him those funny little round toddler crayons. He doesn't quite get the concept yet. When he was tired of those, he grabbed a block and started rubbing it all over the paper. He seemed really confused about why nothing was happening to the paper. His face was the essence of "What the?"

7. I've been trying to use up the stuff we have at home before going out and buying more. (Novel concept, I know!) So I busted out some old Burt's Bees soap that I had been given a while ago. Everything seemed fine and dandy until I actually USED it the other day. It had an unmistakable smell. The smell of a MAN. I got out of the shower and told Alex that he was free to use the soap because I didn't want to walk around with a musky scent. So if you see me sometime soon and I smell a little...masculine. Be kind. I'm just trying to be economical!

Seven Quick Takes - 6/18/10

1. I love Netflix. We've successfully watched all of "How I Met Your Mother." So our next project is tackling "Veronica Mars." So far, I'm really enjoying it. Kristen Bell is so cute and likable.

2. In my never ending quest to be a hippie, I've decided to no longer use regular face wash. I am using my own homemade concoction of Extra Virgin Olive oil and Castor oil. Don't worry, I didn't make this up. It's called the Oil Cleansing Method and real people actually use this stuff regularly. I've only done it for two days, but I can already tell a difference. I've had three obnoxious zits on my cheek for at least a month now and this morning, I noticed that they were already smaller.

3. I attended my first Moms at Play small group at church. I was nervous that I would either 1) Make a fool out of myself or 2) Not get to talk because Jack would be too busy getting into things. Neither one of those happened and we both had a great time. Hooray for fellow moms!

4. I started training for a 10K last night. I downloaded this app and survived the first workout. I am grossly out of shape, especially when it comes to running. But I know I can at least do a 5K and I am DETERMINED to get my running stamina back.

5. I drove to Louisiana and back last weekend for a wedding shower. (The shower was lots of fun and had the best food EVER.) I enjoyed the solo time driving as well. In case you were wondering, I have 73 songs by Glee and it takes over 4 hours to listen to all of the songs in a row. Impressive or terrifying? You be the judge!

6. I've been doing a lot of reading yesterday. If you take a peek at my sidebar, you'll see I updated the "Reading" section with books that I have read this year. I'm planning on doing a more in depth book review post in the future, but all of the books I have read this year have been pretty good, except for "The Red Tent," which made me want to punch myself in the face by the end.

7. I'm thinking about signing up for this. The half. Not the whole. Am I crazy? I kind of want to hyperventilate just thinking about it.

Here and There

The other night, Alex turned to me and said, "Are you ever going to blog again?"

I guess I've been gone a while.

Jack and I were out of town for almost 3 straight weeks. And it's taken me a while to get back into the groove of things. And this week, we are implementing the great nap switch of 2010 and frankly, I don't know what to do with all the free time I have in the afternoon. Because only one nap a day is AWESOME. We eat breakfast and watch Sesame Street and get ready and then run our errands for the day. Then we eat lunch and Jack sleeps for 3-ish hours. THREE HOURS. In fact, we're working on Hour #4 as I type this.

So here's some random notes on things I haven't blogged about, but meant to. (The awesomeness of that sentence is overwhelming, I know.)

- We took Jack to the zoo for the first time while we were in Ohio. I think he liked it. He was more interested in walking around than looking at the animals, but he did notice them, at least. And he saw his very first manatee, which warmed my heart. He fell asleep about half way through, so Alex, my sis-in-law, and I enjoyed the rest of the zoo while pushing a sleeping toddler around.

- Jack is a champion flyer. His ears don't bother him at all and he even got to sit in his very own seat on our two flights home. I kind of want to give him a medal.

- I got my hair cut. Very short! It's just below my chin. I have a picture...somewhere. On my phone perhaps? I'll...probably never get to posting that, so why lie? But it's the shortest it has been in a very, very long time and I'm still getting used to it. However, it's finally blonde again and I don't look like I'm going for the two-toned hair look. Hooray!

- I did not work out AT ALL while we were out of town and consequently gained some weight. Weight that I had worked very hard to take off. And that has got to be one of the most frustrating things in the entire world. Alex has been 7 kinds of motivated to work out this week, but I just haven't been feeling it. I finally sucked it up and did Jillian's Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism workout today. And I am actually typing this post from the grave because that stupid DVD KILLED me.

- It's as hot as hades down here. (Shocking, I know. Super hot in south Texas in June? You don't say!) So we've been hitting the pool quite a bit. Jack loves the pool. Loooooooooooooooves it. He is definitely his father's child as I only like the pool if I can sit in a chair with a cold drink and a book. But I go in the water anyway, because he really likes it and I really like him. I haven't attempted the pool trip solo yet, but I'm sure that will happen as I get desperate for things to tire that little ball of energy out.

- Glee! Glee! Oh man, Glee. I love that show. I've watched the season finale four or five times now. And the Journey medley even MORE times. I am so sad there aren't any new episodes until September-ish. Even though it is sometimes wildly inconsistent, I still can't get enough of it.